A New Life
by ZeXal2828
Summary: Charles has been unceremoniously dumped into the FE world with some awesome armor, a sword he has no idea how to use, and in the middle of an apocalypse! Watch as he struggles to survive and become the most Over Powered badass since the Slime from Dragon Quest/Warrior! ...What? The Slime is the weakest monster? Well... Fuck.
1. When Life Gives You Lemons

**Welcome everyone to my brand new series on this website of fiction and fans!**

 **First off, I'd like to say, that I love the Fire Emblem series, and it is my favorite game up to date.**

 **Second, that my other stories are being put on hold for reasons not specified. For those of you who are in-the-know, the area I live in flooded, so my work was put on hold for such a long time. I am now officially rusty. So rusty, that if I continue writing one of my other series (which all already had the next chapter somewhat done when the flood happened) then I am sure I will botch up the job. As in, I'll definitely mess up the "flow" of the chapter, and story. So, I will be using this as a chance to get my skillz back. I also wanted to write a FE fanfic as I had played FE a lot over my long break thanks to the flood... school has also started up some months ago, so there is also that... uh... I've also been searching for a job, and I've been busy helping out at my house, aunt's, and grandmother's. Mostly mine. In any case, do you honestly expect someone to continue writing his other stories when he doesn't even have a door to his ROOM!?**

 **...**

 **I really have to go sand that damn door again, paint it, and then make sure it's all smooth and shit so it can be put back...**

 **Damn I'm too lazy for this shit...**

 **So, now that I'm finished wasting your time with my troubles, why am I starting up a new story? Well, if you were paying attention, you'd know, but let me give you another reason! Because. I. Can.**

 **Reckt.**

 **So let's get this started, 'kay?**

 **P.S. This is based on what _I_ would, more or less, do if I was sent spiraling into the FE world of Awakening. Of course, not all of it would be what I would do, but I'll try to keep this as realistically to me as possible. Cursing is used a lot. So, with that, please enjoy this story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - When life gives you lemons, the world turns to shit.**

Hello everyone. Before we continue, how 'bout some introductions, huh? My name is Charles. I have light blonde hair, that is a bit on the long side, though not by much. It doesn't touch my shoulders, or my lower jaw, but it does cover about half of my ears, and occasionally covers my eyes. I have blue-green eyes, so I've been told multiple times in my life that I have green eyes, or blue eyes, gray eyes, and that one time, hazel.

Currently, I'm wearing an outfit I'm not exactly used to.

Black plated armor, probably steel or iron, I can't tell, covers my chest, down to my stomach, and wraps around to my back. Obviously, as it is chest armor, it does that. It also comes equipped with a left shoulder guard, greaves that go from my feet to my knees, and black fingerless cloth gloves. Underneath my armor, I have on a white cloth, or is it cotton? shirt and black, same material, pants.

Being an ignorant man, who just so happens to be awesome, has its ups and downs, such as not being able to tell what kind of armor this is, what type of clothes I'm wearing, and why the fuck the sky is burning and lava is spilling out of the ground. And also, giant portals with the zodiac signs on them, appearing in the middle of the sky. And thank you, oh glorious 69 Cancer. Without you, I never would've known that those weird symbols were of the zodiac variety.

Also, fuck off zombies! Stop chasing me!

Now, just like some other person who randomly ended up in a world, I had a weapon. If my eyes ever deceive me, which they do a lot, this is a sword of bronze. Pretty shit, but still good - at least when defending your life.

However, unlike the others who end up in a different world, I have no idea how to use this sword. Well, I mean, I can stab, slash, and hack my way through the zombies, but I am one hundred percent sure that that is a suicide run for sure. And I'd rather not die by zombies eating me... or in the case of these glowing red eye zombies, being mauled to death with various kinds of weapons.

But, now you might be wondering, how the fuck am I here, in this weird ass world, that throws lava, fire, zombies, and possible death at you in the first mission.

Well, let me tell you a story of legend, one where you'll be awed and- fuck watch out!

I tripped on a tree root, and I nearly fell down to the ground, however, thanks to some luck on my part, I managed to keep my balance. Running awkwardly, I stumbled my way along. After a few moments passed after my recovery, I chanced a look behind me.

The zombies were closer.

Well, I guess this is a good time to think back on my life, as I'm about to be fucked, right?

Well, it all started on one normal day...

* * *

I woke up at my usual time. 5:40 A.M. I rose up from my bed, and slipped out of my covers. I walked over to my blaring alarm clock, aka, my phone, and turned the annoying music off. I then walked out of my room, and into the bathroom, where I flicked on the lights. I washed my face thoroughly, as I have a bit of a habit about washing it multiple times, making sure there wasn't anything on it.

I dried my face using a towel. Then, I brushed my teeth. I went back into my room, and grabbed my school clothes. I took a shower. I dressed. I, didn't eat breakfast, because that would be stupid, and I plopped down on my bed, and grabbed my 3DS from the stand next to me. I opened up the newest Fire Emblem game, Fates, and continued my save file. I was a pretty experienced player who plays the entire game, just to stop at the mission before the last boss. I don't know why. Just... too lazy for it. I mean, it gets so easy when I get there, I feel as if I would be disappointed by the final boss if it was an easy fight, so I just never get around to doing it.

It sucks.

But it's what I do.

Never finished Sacred Stones, though I did get to the final boss. I had saved during the fight, determined to get back to it later, but never did so.

Shadow Dragon, in my opinion, was shit, so I stopped playing it around the third mission.

Awakening was great, I had OP as fuck characters, and I had just gotten to Grima, but I didn't start the fight, as I wanted to gain some better skills for my already OP crew.

And now there is Fates. Conquest, I stopped at that fucking ninja level. Fuck that shit. I'll get back to it once I finish with the other two versions. I was currently on Birthright, around chapter 28? But It has been so long that I don't remember what was happening. Or maybe it was 18... I also did the third one, Revelation. Actually, it was the first version I started. I got all the way to the end where you battle the old general dude, and then it was right after that... where you battle... whoever the fuck it was.

So, I did my usual. I played a bit, leveling some of my lower level characters, and then I saved the game, and exited. I grabbed my backpack, and set out on my journey to get to school.

Of course, like the pleb I am, I don't have a car. I walked to where the school bus will be picking me up and waited. In the cold. By myself.

Eventually, it came, and it went, and I was at school, somehow.

I talked to some friends, and the bell rang, and I went about my day.

Skip ahead to about two weeks later, and I was playing on my 3DS, obviously, it was Pokemon Moon as it had came out and I had gotten it.

What? You thought it'd be Fire Emblem? Good for you. This is _my_ story. Not yours.

So, as I am lazy, I was just past the first trial. I had attained the Normal Z thing, and I was searching for the blonde girl. Forgot her name, but she was pretty cute. She also had that cosmos Pokemon that kept trying to escape... whatever it was actually called.

So, there I was. Playing some good ol' fashioned Pokemon. When all of a sudden, I heard a voice! Yes, it was it! My Grandmother had called me to come get some food. So, I tossed my 3DS down on the bed (it was 3 cm above the bed when I tossed it down, so It didn't take any damage) and I ran for my food... not really, it was more of a slow jog.

So, after eating, I went to the bathroom and there it happened... as I was washing my face... a voice called out to me! Yes, it was it! My brother wanted me to hurry up and get out of the bathroom so he could feed his hand washing addiction. Seriously, why? I can never get why anyone would wash your hands three times every hour... as I washed my face for the third time in the last hour.

So, moving on, I went back to my game! I battled some trainers for money like the bully I am and continued my epic journey. Then, I saved and turned it off. It was time. Time to play a game familiar to all of you... Mario! So I loaded up some good ol' fashioned Mario, and then, just as I pressed start to begin the game, it happened! My game turned off because it ran out of batteries! ...Is what I thought at first.

But, when a weird symbol appeared on the top part of my 3DS, I blinked.

It was like a circle, inside another circle. At the edges, were the Zodiac Signs. I recognized them because of Cancer 69.

Just as I was doubting my eyes, some text appeared on the bottom screen. It mysteriously read:

" _Thee who... something or other, something, prophesy..._ "

To be honest, I just skimmed it so I don't actually know what it read.

I mean, can you blame me? When you keep throwing text at my face, I had developed a habit of skimming through it first, before actually reading the words.

Before I could read the text, the symbol on the top screen flashed white! I then felt a heat unlike any other spread throughout my body, and my vision was blinded.

When I came to, I was in a dark forest. I had checked my body, as it felt different, and found that I now wore itchy as fuck clothing, armor, and that I had a sword. Of course, it was in a sheathe on my left waist, being held there by leather wraps. Or something. A belt? Who knows! It was too dark!

Either way, I pulled the sword free, and observed it.

After thinking the word 'Observe' three times in my head, and then repeating it out loud five times, and finding that nothing was happening, I then actually looked at the sword and did actual observation.

It was dark green. It was pretty heavy, but not too heavy... I could life more. It might be... bronze? I gave it a swing. The sword made a thunk as it hit the dirt below. I was a horrible swordsman, it seemed.

I slid the sword back into its sheathe and looked around.

It was around that time that everything went to shit, I picked a direction, and ran.

Flames erupted all around me, lava spewed forth from the earth, a magical circle thing appeared in the sky, with the Zodiacs, and zombies started to chase me!

Hey, wait a minute... that actually reminds me of... oh, hey, is that a zombie with a bow?

DUCK!

I... didn't really duck, it was more like I had jumped to the ground. It was right on time too, as an arrow flew past me some questionable inches from my head. Hey, where the fuck were you aiming for? I swear, if you had aimed at 'that' spot, you are so dead! Well, they are already dead, so...

Run! Run! RUN YOU FAT FUCK!

I'm not actually fat, but I eat so much I'm sometimes called so.

Dismissing my thoughts of madness, I picked myself up from the ground, and ran. I made sure to watch my step this time, so I didn't trip!

And then I hit a tree because I was looking down and not in front of me.

Seriously, can't a guy win for a change?

I fell back from the tree, my forehead red from the collision. I rubbed my hand against my head, and felt some liquid. It was blood. Then, I looked behind me. The zombies had come to a stop... because they were nearly within striking distance! Their weapons were raised... two with swords, one with an axe, and one further down with a bow!

' _I'm so screwed, aren't I?_ '

After thinking this, I stood up on shaky legs, and slid the bronze sword out of its sheathe. I looked up at the zombies. My eyes were filled with the sight of flame and the zombies in front of me.

I took a deep breath, and calmed myself. This can only go one way.

I turned to my right, and fled! The zombies roared at me, or something, and then chased after me. I heard a thunk as an arrow hit a tree somewhere to my right. It seems as if the zombie archer missed! Hooray! I can live for another minute or two!

But, shouting at myself to stop such ridiculous thinking, I plunged myself back into the deadly moment and ran. Right. Left. Right. Sidestep to my right! Run! Right! Left! Duck my head! Run faster! Wheeze! Right! Left! Trip like a fucking idiot! Spin around mid fall and land on your back!

Okay, that last part ended in failure as I hit the ground beneath me with my right shoulder. I turned to my left. A zombie was standing before me. It raised its sword. Eyes wide, I held up the bronze sword I still carried, and tensed for impact. The sword came down on me...

And...

It...

Didn't...

Hit?

I opened my eyes, and saw a new fighter standing in front of me! Long blue hair, wearing some light armor, and some blue and black, plus other colors, clothes, and a black mask covering a very effeminate face.

He, or rather she, carried a long sword that looked very familiar, which was currently holding off the enemies sword! The masked person, looked over their left shoulder, nodded at me, and then cut the zombie into two!

It was amazing and I totally didn't nearly wet myself!

They then fought the rest of the zombies to death, and they disappeared in darkness.

The figure turned to me and walked over. A hand was extended. I quickly grabbed the hand, and was pulled up. The figure, who I now know for sure, is a girl, looked me up and down, probably making sure I was okay and without injuries.

Then, using a voice as if to disguise her true voice, she spoke. "You look well enough to fight. I will leave you here." She then turned around and ran off, heading in who knows what direction!

Oh, right! Fire, lava, zombies! Get me the fuck out of this forest!

I turned in the opposite direction she went in, and ran.

I ran and ran, but it still happened.

I happened upon a stray zombie wielding a sword.

Oh, no, no, no! I do not want to fight you!

The zombie gave me a bone chilling shriek, and ran at me.

Fuck my life!

I gripped the bronze sword with both my hands and charged the zombie!

I was currently out of my mind. If I was going to die, I might as well die fighting! Or something.

The zombie slashed its (iron?) sword down at me, but I managed to twist my body out of the way! And nearly fall down in the process! I then raised the sword and slashed horizontally at its neck. The sword sliced through the air, however, it managed to block the strike. It then tried to press on into an attack, but I didn't allow it to do so, as I charged into it with my left shoulder. It took a step back from the force, but was other wise unaffected. The distance was closed, and it couldn't use its sword effectively. I looked up at its disgusting face... to find it breathe on me. I jumped back, choking on its disgusting breath. The zombie cautiously approached me, with its sword held in two hands.

Clicking my tongue, I then jumped forward, stabbing my sword at its chest at the same time! The zombie swatted my sword to the side, and I let go... with one hand. However, taking a hard step with my right leg, I pulled the sword back up and through the air with my right hand, still clutched onto it, and swung at the zombie. The zombie was, more or less, surprised at this, and it took a step back to dodge the attack. Just as my sword missed its nose, I grabbed the grip with my left hand, and forced the sword back and down. The bronze sword cut through the zombies chest and came out of its thigh.

Then, my arms were thus exhausted. Swinging a heavy ass sword when not used to it will do that to you.

I lowered the point of the sword until it nearly touched the dirt below, and watched the zombie as I breathed heavily from my exhaustion. I haven't collapsed to the ground yet because my adrenaline was still flowing, but I knew... as soon as this dangerous situation ended, I'll probably take a not-so-long nap on the ground here.

The zombie did not fall. It was still alive and kicking. I clenched my teeth together. I sucked in some not-so-fresh air, and raised my sword.

The zombie took a step forward and swung with all its might. The sword sliced through the air, heading for my neck. I raised my sword, and blocked the strike with my blade. I put my entire weight on my sword to block that attack. The zombie pulled back its sword. With wide eyes, I stumbled to my left. I put too much weight on my left side!

As I caught my balance, the zombie raised its sword to the sky, and brought it down.

' _...Did you think you had me, huh? Zombie!_ '

I threw my body forward and into a roll! The sword struck only the air, as I rose up from the ground behind and to the right of the zombie. As the zombie started to turn around to face me, I attacked!

I slashed my sword at the undefended neck of the zombie, and, with some difficulty and pain, it flew off a moment later! The zombie erupted into darkness and disappeared.

I collapsed down to my knees, dropping my sword. I could hardly feel my arms from the pain. Exhaustion took over my body, and my eyes started to close. I didn't resist. I let myself fall asleep. My body fell against the earth, as if it was a puppet with its strings cut.

* * *

 **And there you have it!**

 **If you haven't noticed from the way I wrote it, I am currently very bad, very rusty. So, I compensated with trying my hardest to give it more of a real-life thought process kind of thing? What did I just say... I don't know. Either way, that was the first chapter. Charles has survived his first battle! Now, what will happen when he wakes up?**

 **I know we all know who that masked woman was, so you have a general idea of where he is! But will he meet up with the Shepherds? Find out... when I get off my lazy ass, sit down on my comfortable chair, and write the next chapter!**

 **BTW, Charles' theme song is Awakening by Normandie. I listened to the song as I wrote this. It was fun. Fun. Fun.**

 **Why did I repeat that three times...**

 **Whatever.**

 **I'm going to go wash my face three times, so, if you enjoyed, please leave a favorite, follow, and a review telling me of a habit you do three times in a roll before stopping!**


	2. Welcome To The Game

**Hello and welcome to the second chapter of A New Life! Now, if you do not know, this was created so that I can get better at writing. I haven't written anything in months, so my skillz are rusty. Srry if it isn't well written, but these things take time! I can't continue my other stories until I get back into writing, so my rusty skillz don't affect the 'flow' of the story. I mean, it's like writing a story, and it has a rating of 7/10, and then stopping for a few months, and then continuing and having it be rated 4/10, right? I must regain my skillz!**

 **Also, I have some reviews, so let's talk about that!**

 **PersonaUserOrpheus3245 -** _Well, I can't wait to not read any of your stories! Oh wait! You don't have any!_

 **Koal (guest) -** _T_ _hank you. However, I am not one for removing reviews for them being negative or just trolling. I like to look back at it, and laugh at the stupid people, ya know? Besides, sometimes negative reviews can help you grow as they can point out your stories flaws!_

 **Guest -** _Thank you! I do not plan to stick to the game's dialogue too much, since I want to focus more on my character's journey - what I would do in this game. I don't even know if he will join the Shepherds or not, actually XD._

 **Anyway, with that out of the way, let us see if Charles peed his pants, mhm? Probably not.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Welcome to the game, the Fire Emblem game.**

I don't know how long it took, but my eyes flickered open to the pain of the sun. It was midday, and the sun was shining down on my form, which was lying in the middle of the woods. The sunlight burned my retina, so I placed a hand over my eyes. I stayed like that for a few moments, before I released a yawn. I then picked myself up from the grass and dirt, and looked around. Trees surrounded me, but I was in a small clearing. My bronze sword was on the ground. I must've dropped it when I passed out from exhaustion. I picked up the blade and slid it into my sheath.

First off, I thought it was all a dream, but It ended up being real. I looked down. I really want to wash my face...

"Maybe there's a stream?" I spoke quietly to myself.

But before I went searching for water, I decided to look at my memories from before I passed out.

First off, zombies.

Their gear and the way their eyes glowed red... and how they died, reminded me of something. What was it... Wa... Ri...

Something like that.

Then there was the totally not a dude who saved my life. She reminded me of FE Awakening when Lucina appears and how she calls herself Marth. The only difference, was that she had long hair, but she was first shown with short hair.

I thought of this for about three seconds before I arrived at my conclusion.

"Fuck, I'm in Fire Emblem Awakening, aren't I?"

It was horrible - though at the same time amazing. I was in one of my favorite games, which made it awesome as I can meet my favorite characters, but I was seriously thrown into this kind of situation, where I can die at any moment? I won't say that I was the best tactician, and that none of the characters I controlled died, as I had reset many times during my play through, but if I woke up in the forest in the middle of chapter 1, it means that I didn't replace Robin. It meant that I wasn't some kind of main character in my own story, one that makes it so that I won't die, as I am needed for the later acts.

On another note, the zombies are Risen. Lucina appeared, saved my life, but she had long hair... which means that she tied it up to conceal her identity as a girl when she first pops up? Did she have short hair or long hair when she jumped through the portal? I can't remember, but if she appeared in front of me with long hair, then she must've tied it up before she saved Lissa's life. Or something.

Another thing, why the fuck was I dropped into the story? Am I needed for something? Perhaps Robin doesn't exist in this? Well, no, that would be stupid. Robin, whether he is a he or a she, is very important to the story. So what part does that leave me? Maybe other players were pulled into the story?

So help me Naga if someone ends up with Nowi... Okay, why did I say Naga and not God? And yes, I like Nowi. What you gonna do about it? Call the cops? In Fire Emblem?

I call bullshit.

So, now let me stop arguing to myself in my head, and get a move on.

I looked left and right, and then turned to my left and started to walk.

I had no idea where I was, so I might end up dead, but I might as well make most of my shortening life span to get a good look at the forest. I've only been in the forest once in my life, and it was the park forest, where me, my brother, a friend, and some cousins, ran into some dude who just so happened to be walking towards us. It scared the crap out of everyone - except me, of course. I mean, I definitely did not join in their screams as they fled the woods.

...

Day 53. I've been walking in this forest for so long... It has been days. Months! Okay, just a few minutes.

This is boring.

It was nearly two hours, or what felt like two hours, when I found water. A small lake in the forest.

Smiling, I rushed up to the water and dropped down on my hands and knees. I pulled off my gloves, so as to not wet them, and dipped my hands into the cool water. I then collected some water in my hands and brought it up to my lips, where I drank quickly. I repeated this five times before I got my fill. I then dropped my hands back into the water, and quickly threw them out and at my face. After wetting my face several times, I shook my hands to dry them. Once dried, I slipped on the gloves. I stood up, and looked around.

' _Grrrggll..._ '

I spun around as soon as I heard that growl. I saw glowing red eyes staring back at me. Not one pair, but three.

Three Risen appeared from the woods as they stepped into the clearing the lake was in.

"Son of a..." I cursed underneath my breath. I might be able to fight one - with bullshit luck, but three? Impossible. And so, like the awesome and totally courageous man I was, I turned to my right, and fled. The Risen, which all carried swords, ran after me.

Back in elementary school, I was known as the - self-proclaimed - fastest in the school. Though, of course, after that I kind of stopped exercising and so I lost a lot of my stamina and became slower... but lets not think about that.

This was now a matter of life and death! I can't stop here! I must keep running! For my ever shortening lifespan!

*Huff, huff* My run slowed down into a fast walk.

I was running out of energy. I was hungry. I was tired. I chanced a glance behind me. I saw only the trees. Did I lose the-

I ducked as fast as I could. A sword was slashed at my face from a Risen that was nearly in my blind spot. If I turned a bit more, or if it was more to my left, I wouldn't have seen the attack coming... until my head was rolling on the ground.

I stood up and backed up. There was only the one Risen with a sword. Maybe they split up, or were they all waiting for their chance to attack? An ambush? Or maybe this was a fourth Risen?

I heard the sound of feet hitting the ground somewhere behind me. The rustling of a bush followed after.

Okay, they were still chasing me.

Son of a-

I dodged to my left with a roll. I turned tail and ran.

I was not going to die here!

I jumped over a log that was in my path, but I didn't jump high enough, as my right foot hit the log. I tripped forward and hit the ground with a roll. I stayed down for a moment, before I slowly pushed myself back up with my arms. I turned to look behind me. There was a single Risen coming for me.

Clicking my tongue, I rolled over to my right and stood up. I slid my sword out of its sheathe. The only thing I could do, was to fight to my last breath!

Or better yet, fight as I escape! I might get an opening to kill the Risen by doing so, and besides, they aren't really that smart, right?

The Risen jumped over the log and swiped its sword at me. I ducked underneath the blade, but felt it cut through some of my hair.

I slashed back at the zombie, but It deflected the attack. It slashed down at me, but I managed to dodge it by twisting my body to the side... and hitting my knee against the log. I nearly tripped, but with my left hand, I grabbed the arm of the Risen and pulled it down, as I used its weight to pull myself back up. The Risen ended up sprawled over on the ground, but it was getting up fast. I stabbed down with my sword, and the Risen either couldn't move in time, or it didn't care. It kept getting up, even when the sword cut through more of its body. I quickly pulled the bronze sword out of its chest and backed up. The Risen raised its arm, and with it, its sword, and brought it down on me!

I was able to react at the last moment and blocked the slash.

I then backed up a couple of steps. The sound of feet coming was louder than before, so I should start my escape strategy!

The Risen followed after me. I turned around and ran!

I looked behind me multiple times, to check up on the position of the Risen. My arm was getting tired as I held the sword, but I pushed on. After a while, I switched to my left arm. I looked behind me. The Risen was following behind, but it was still chasing me. I couldn't see the other three, or how many, Risen that were chasing after me, which means...!

I turned around with a twirl, and faced the Risen as I gripped my bronze sword with both hands! The Risen approached me quickly and slashed at my chest without slowing down! I sidestepped and parried the slash. I pushed my weight against my sword and pushed the Risen's sword away from me. As it started to turn around to attack me, I kicked the back of its left knee. The Risen nearly fell down from the sudden attack, but it kept on its feet. However, it was distracted, if only in its stance. I slashed my sword at its side. The Risen tried to dodge the blow, but it was too slow as it wasn't in a good stance to do that.

The sword ripped through its side, and the Risen took a few steps back.

I pushed on with my attack. A nearly fatal mistake.

Using my momentum against me, the Risen stabbed its sword forward. I only just managed to turn my head out of the path, and it cut through my cheek. I felt a hotness on my face, as if I was being burned, but I ignored it... for a few moments.

I slashed my own sword at its neck, but it only cut halfway through. I quickly pulled the sword free and placed my free hand on my cheek. When I pulled it back, it came back bloody. I could tell that I turned pale from seeing my blood. I looked back at the Risen. It took a step forward, even with its neck cut in half.

' _Is the only way to kill these bastards to take their head off!?_ ' I yelled within my mind.

Teeth rattling within my mouth, I narrowed my eyes and tried to shove my fear away. Being injured... really tells you about the situation. You might know you could die, but if you aren't injured, you keep an illusion that everything will be alright. This event blasted through that illusion, and I felt genuine fear. Yelling, I charged forward at the Risen! It raised its sword to attack, but I didn't give it the time, as I hit it with my left shoulder guard. It took a few steps back and fell over from the force of the hit, and I felt a dull pain in my shoulder. However, I ignored it in favor of attacking the Risen.

I stabbed my sword into its throat, and then raised, and stab, and raise, and stab! I repeated this until even after it had disappeared!

After that, I dropped my bronze sword, and stared at my hands. Blood was on my left hand, from when I touched my face. I could feel a hot liquid sliding down my face. I took a few shaking breaths. After a few seconds of this, and trying to clear my mind, I heard the bushes nearby move with movement. I turned my eyes to the right, and stared. I could see three Risen approaching me. They were still pretty far away, but they were closing in on me, fast.

They never gave up on chasing me.

Damn Risen!

I cursed. I grabbed my sword and sheathed it. I turned, and ran for safety. I ran for as long as I could. It was minutes later, that I came to a stop.

"Haha... haha..." I panted even as I laughed. The three Risen appeared somewhere behind me and slowly approached me.

I was standing on top of a cliff.

The exit behind me was blocked by the Risen as they approached me from the forest, and the front was... well, a drop. I wasn't experienced in climbing down cliffs, and I definitely wasn't in the mood to climb down with three deadly zombies, that will stop at nothing to chase me, behind me.

I turned to look behind me. Looking over my right shoulder, I saw the three Risen from before closing in on me.

I guess there are two, no, three choices.

One. Fight the Risen and hope for a bullshit miracle.

Two. Let them kill you.

Three. Jump off the cliff and maybe survive.

I looked down. It wasn't that far... though It was definitely more than two stories tall. Perhaps three or four. I'm pretty sure people have died from falling one story... depending on how they land, I guess. But, well... if I jump and die, it will be suicide, right? Or would it be murder, as I was pushed to jumping off? Well, either way, if I stay, I die. If I fight, I'll probably die.

I gulped down some saliva.

I looked back at the Risen, they were nearly within striking distance.

Even if I jump off, they might still follow me. They might die upon landing, and I might survive. Or I could die and they survive.

Either way, I think the best choice would be to jump.

It has the most likely chance to live, after all.

I looked down.

It was a long fall...

I have a fear of heights...

But...

I'm still going to do it!

The closest Risen raised its sword to the side, and slashed at my back!

But before the blade could rip through my armor and through my flesh, I jumped!

The wind howled in my ears as I fell.

The ground was approaching fast! My eyes widened, and my pupils dilated! I could see scenes from my life passing through my eyes!

This was it!

This was the end!

I closed my eyes and-

* * *

 **Name:** Charles – Awakening by Normandie **  
Age:** 18  
 **Race:** Human **  
Gender:** Male **  
Height:** 5'5'' **  
Class:** Mercenary **  
Weaknesses:** None **  
**

 **Appearance:** Blonde hair, with the bangs touching the eyes, and covering half of the ears, medium-length. Blue-green eyes.

 **Outfit:** Black plated armor, covering the chest and stomach, as well as the back, with a left shoulder guard, greaves, and black fingerless cloth gloves.

 **Weapon:** Bronze Sword  
 **Mt** : 3 **Hit** : 100 **Crit** : 0 **Rng** : 1

 **Level:** 2 **  
EXP:** 30 - The first Risen he killed gave him 50 EXP points, but with his Unique Skill, he gained an additional 25 points. The second gave him enough to level up, and he managed to get 30 more points due to this. So he is at level 2, with 30 EXP. **  
Stats: Rating:** 49 **  
**Str – 10 + 1 = 11  
Mag – 1  
Skill – 8  
Spd - 8  
Lck - 9 + 1 = 10  
Def – 6 + 1 = 7  
Res - 3 + 1 = 4  
 **Sword Proficiency:** E **  
**

 **Unique Skill:** Quick Learner – _Grants the unit 50% more EXP when fighting by himself (Cannot be Paired with another unit, or next to one for this to be activated)._ **  
Skills:  
** Armsthrift (Lvl 1)– _Attack without expending a weapon use. Trigger % = (Lck stat X 2)._ **  
**

The reason he has a Unique Skill, is because you're given five slots for skills in Awakening, and each class gives you two skills, and I plan to only keep him with two classes, so a fifth would be missing, so I just gave him something. Argue with me about that all you like, but I am not changing it. I have... plans. Btw, I will be putting his stats in each chapter he levels up, so you can see his growth. Now, back to the chapter!

* * *

When I came to my senses, I could hear something... was it... someone talking? I couldn't really hear what they were saying. My body felt heavy. My leg especially hurt. But I felt comfortable and warm. Am I sleeping on a bed, or am I in the realm of death?

"... you can... prom... 'kay?" A woman's voice. I couldn't hear everything she said, and some of what I heard was blurry.

"...ay. I.. mise." A younger voice, high pitched... a girl, or just a really young boy?

I groaned as I tried to open my eyes. The light hurt slightly as they opened up. I opened my eyes to see a wooden ceiling. I looked around what appeared to be a bedroom.

I saw a wooden dresser to my left side against the wall, a door next to it, and a small end table to my right. I was in a bed with the sheets over me. Grabbing the edge of the sheets, I pushed them away from me so I could get a look at my body, and at why my right leg hurt so much.

My armor was removed, and I was wearing my clothes, but there was some scratches and holes in the fabric. My right pants leg was rolled up, and my leg was covered by a white bandage. I blinked at it. I don't remember hurting my leg...

"Oh..." I muttered out loud. It was probably when I jumped off that cliff... I must've broke my leg when I landed.

Since I was apparently safe and in a room, I must've been near a village. Of course, there would be other settlements in the Fire Emblem world other than where you fight...

The door to the room creaked open and a little girl popped in. She looked to be around 10 with brown hair that touched her shoulders and that had bangs that were brushed to the side, and brown eyes. She wore a plain tan shirt, with short sleeves, and a white skirt. She had on sandals, even though she was indoors. I usually don't wear shoes inside, so it was kind of weird to see that...

Oh, and since I'm on the topic of footwear... wearing armor around my feet kind of hurts, so I'd love to replace it... maybe get boots or shoes. I'd rather that than have the greaves around my feet. Though they do protect my legs up to the knees, I'd rather my feet not hurt so much from walking around.

"Ah!" The girl exclaimed, pointing a finger at me with her mouth wide open. "You're awake!" She finally said. There was some kind of sparkle in her eyes, but I ignored it.

"Yes. Yes I am." I replied. I didn't try to get out of bed, though I did sit up. It was a bit rude to talk to someone lying down, right? That was a thing, right? Am I right? Maybe. I'd search it on Google, but, ya know... I don't think there would be internet in Fire Emblem. Maybe in a future game, it might be more advanced, but for now... it was more medieval ages. With magic.

"Is there anything you would like to eat?" In the span of the few seconds I spent thinking, the girl appeared by the bedside with her face close to mine. A large smile was on her face. She was... a pretty energetic girl.

"Eh? Food? Then... some stew?" I was a picky eater, but I'll try to eat whatever they give me.

The girl nodded twice, with her eyes shining, and, spinning around on the balls of her feet, she raced for the door. "Got it!" She yelled, as she disappeared in the hallway. It was a few moments later that she came back. "Sorry!" She apologized and closed the door.

I don't know why she was apologizing, but whatever. She was... kind of weird? Maybe she is just an abnormally excitable child.

I laid my head back against the wall behind me, and waited for the food.

I could vaguely smell something tasty as I waited, but I tried my best to ignore it. I stared up at the ceiling and thought about how to survive in this world.

Fire Emblem is a game where any character could die - it wasn't a game you could play with bad strategy. Since it is now my reality, I must become strong. First was the war with Plegia, then there was Valm. A total of two wars. But what do I want to do? I could do whatever I want to do. I don't have to join the Shepherds, heck, I don't even have to live a life of fighting! I could find my own place in life, I could be a simple merchant, or I could be a farmer. Either way, I could lead a totally different lifestyle than what would be expected when entering a Fire Emblem game.

There are those who just attach themselves to the main characters - as they steadily become more OP than the Gods, but, I am not like them. I'm not the main character of a fanfiction, I was just someone who just happened to end up in one of the Fire Emblem games.

So, what should I do? I don't want to die. I want to live. I want to be true to my character. Who am I and what should I do to stay true to my principles?

It was at that moment that the door opened. The girl from earlier came in carrying a wooden tray, and on it, was a wooden bowl with steam rising from it. She brought it over to me, and placed the tray on my lap. In the bowl, was a stew filled with meat, some vegetables... carrots... and a broth of some kind. There was a spoon, of course it was a wooden one, next to the bowl. The girl had a smile on her face as she waited.

"Oh, ah, thank you." I said, and slightly lowered my head to her in thanks. I got the habit of doing that from watching anime, but I usually did it when I was by myself, or when I wasn't paying much attention. Before I could get embarrassed, the girl giggled.

"You're welcome!"

I chuckled awkwardly, and then stared down at the stew. I didn't like eating vegetables. I don't like carrots. I should've said "give me some bread" and not stew...

The girl stared a hole into my head, waiting for me to eat. She might've been hoping for a compliment for the food.

Well, here goes nothing...

I grabbed the spoon, raised it, and lowered it into the stew. I collected some of the broth, a small piece of meat... and a piece of tomato. I raised the spoon to my mouth, opened wide, and closed my mouth around the spoon. I slipped the spoon out of my mouth, and started chewing.

...It was actually good.

If this was not this world, I probably would've thrown up. Maybe my taste buds were "configured" so I could actually eat? It was either that, or they were just really good.

After I swallowed, I faced the girl, who I still do not know the name of, and smiled. "It's good. Thank you."

Her face bloomed into a rose, or rather, it turned red from embarrassment, or extreme happiness? Either way, it was red, and she was scratching the back of her head. "Hehehe! Thank you!" After that, I ate the rest of the stew as she watched me intensely.

Once I finished, the girl took the tray from me, and left the room.

I waited there in silence for her return, however, the next person to enter was an older woman.

She had black hair tied into a pony tail that was wrapped over her right shoulder, with the bangs being brushed to either side of her blue eyes. She wore a white blouse with long sleeves, and a black long skirt. The skirt mostly hid her feet, but I could hear the slapping of sandals. She was, to say without a shred of doubt, an attractive woman. However, comparing her to her daughter, they don't look that much alike. Maybe she resembled her father more?

"Good to see you're energetic." She said. I nearly asked what she meant by that, but I remembered that she first met me when I was unconscious. Though it wasn't much of a greeting...

"Well, compared to your daughter, I'm not that energetic." I replied with an awkward smile.

There was an awkward pause for a second before she smiled. "Well, Malina is very outgoing for such a young... girl."

I blinked. Why was there a pause before she said girl? Was she hiding something? Maybe... Malina was a boy? That is certainly... an interesting... and totally not funny thought.

"Oh, right. I haven't introduced myself, right?" She said, taking my attention back from my thoughts. "I am Juliet." She introduced herself.

"Mhm, nice to meet you. My name is Charles, just a simple traveler... I guess?" I sounded unsure of myself, but I tried my best. I was never that good at introductions.

"Well then, I will be going now. If you have any questions or requests, please ask Malina. I have work to get to."

"Oh? What do you do?"

"I sell fruit and vegetables in the village market place." She stood up and headed over to the door as she said this. "Then, goodbye, Charles."

I smiled as she left. Before the door could completely shut, the girl from earlier, Malina, entered. She ran over to the bedside and got close to me, like before. She stared at me with big round eyes. "So, you're a traveler, Mr. Charles?" She must've been listening in on our conversation, but I could only smile at the thought.

"Just Charles is fine. And yes... I guess you could say that?"

"Oh, cool!" She remarked, stars appearing in her eyes. "So does that mean you've been everywhere?"

"Not... everywhere. Just some places."

"C-could you tell me some stories?" She sounded so excited that I found it hard to say no.

But first things first... what will I say? I can't really tell her much about what I've seen... I never went out that much. So... I could only really tell her of stories I've heard, such as the Niagara Falls, or things from anime, or even sights from the Fire Emblem world. I guess I should start with something easy...

"Well, there is a certain waterfall that I've... seen."

"A waterfall?" She asked.

"Yes. It is called Niagara Falls, and it is around... one hundred and sixty feet. it is somewhere far to the North and East."

"Whoa!"

"Yup. It is very impressive. I've also... been to a large black castle that was formed in a giant hole caused by a meteor."

"What? How could you make a castle there?"

"I don't know how, but they did it. It is... in a land far from here. It is such a remarkable place... where darkness lies on one side, and light on the other."

"That sounds so cool!" Her eyes were lit up, and she leaned in so close that I had to lean back so that our noses wouldn't touch.

The time passed as the two of us talked - mostly me telling her stories and her reacting - and I became tired. After wishing me a good night, Malina left. I lied underneath the covers with my eyes half open, thinking. I had eaten another serving of the stew earlier, so I wasn't hungry, but I wasn't really that tired either.

But these thoughts didn't concern me. I thought about my future. This village seems nice enough. I could possibly stay here, and help Juliet run her stand or whatever. I could farm. I could do a lot of things, huh? Well, I might as well see about it the next day. It might take some time to heal my injury, but there's a thought... couldn't a Vulnerary heal me? Or was that too expensive for a village? I think it cost like 150 or 300 gold. It was something like that. How much does a normal peasant make? I don't know.

Either way, they might not have one to give me. But, then again, I haven't seen or even heard Juliet when she came back... is she still gone? Ah, who knows. I might as well just go to sleep. I closed my eyes, and waited until sleep claimed me.

* * *

 **The next morning**

"Mhm~ Hmm~ Mhm~" Hummed a little girl as she skipped across the ground. She carried a brown bag with vegetables and fruit in it. They were running out of that, so she went to pick some up from the market. So far, the trip was uneventful.

The girl smiled as she thought about the mysterious traveler who was staying over at her house. She had to promise her mom that she would have to take care of him until he gets better, as she was too busy to care for another, but that was a fair trade, as she was able to listen to his tales of travel! They were so interesting and exciting! Malina wishes that one day, she, too, would be able to see the sights that were described to her.

A rock traveled through the air, and skipped across the ground as she kicked it. She skipped past the fallen rock without a thought.

She hummed like she does everyday. She smiled like she does everyday. And she skipped like she does everyday.

And like everyday...

A rock was thrown and struck her in the head. The girl moved on instinct, and bent her head back from the sudden pain. She closed her eyes, and nearly dropped the bag of groceries she bought at nearly three times the higher price. Another rock hit her in the shoulder. This time, she dropped down to the ground, crouching down with her legs placed together, and the bag raised to protect the front of her head. More rocks rained on her body, and then the words.

"Monster!"

"Get out of here!

After the eleventh rock hit her in the neck, she cried out in pain, and the assailants cheered in victory, as if harming a ten-year old child was an accomplishment.

Once the mob had its fun pelting rocks at her, they left. Though a few stayed to yell at her, and throw rocks. Malina, unable to take much more, got up and ran. It might have been smarter to leave as soon as the first rock was thrown, but that would only upset the mob, and she didn't want them to follow her home, as they sometimes break things inside and steal food, money, and other valuables. She didn't know what they would do if they find Charles who was recovering there...

It took three minutes from there to arrive at the outskirts of the village, and then another five to get home. She entered the small wooden building, which only had two rooms - a bedroom making up one room, and a living room combined with a kitchen. There was a small wooden porta-potty outside the house and a minute or two away. There was a river ten minutes away at a lake, which was near a cliff, where Charles was found.

Malina didn't know what led him to jumping off the cliff, but she was happy she found him when picking some mushrooms in the forest.

She entered the wooden house, and walked over to a counter that was against the wall and placed the bag on top of it. She then started to take out the food she bought. Once everything was out of the bag, and the bag was put to the side and out of the way, she started cooking breakfast for Charles as she hummed a melody.

By the time breakfast was ready, the wounds from the thrown rocks had already healed.

* * *

 **Well, let's end this here. I had originally planned to end when I put Charles' stats up above, but I decided to instead push forward for more words! Anyway, we find out that Malina, the cute little girl is a monster :o dun dun duunn! Well, what is she? Find out another time!**

 **But... if she is a "monster" then who is Juliet? What is with Charles and his broken leg? Where did Juliet go? Some of these questions...you already have the answer to!**

 **Well, with that over with, let's get serious.**

 **I do not condone violence against children, and I will never, ever, tell you it is alright to hit a little girl, with or without rocks! You shouldn't strike a little girl! So, with that out of the way, please follow, favorite, if you enjoyed, and leave a review telling me how much of a fuck-up I am! Laters!**


	3. The Turning Point

**Welcome back to A New Life! Let's first address my wonderful reviewers!**

 **Koal (Guest) -** _Well, at some point, the game WILL have to be followed, whether I want to or not... I mean, when a giant destructive dragon god is reborn, ya kind can't just ignore that, right? In any case, I'm just happy somebody is enjoying this series XD_

 **Guest -** _So, if I hand you a sword, you'll know how to use it? I gave information with that - That he doesn't know how to use a sword, and that he's never wielded one. So, how would you be able to know how to use a sword, when it is your first time using one? I've taken fencing before, so I vaguely know how to fence (it's been ages), but when I started, I didn't even know the correct way to hold the blade (we used fake foils before pulling out the real ones). Besides, it adds in some comedy!_

 _In any case, I like the flow of my current summary right now, so I cannot change it._

 **And there we go. I'm sorry if my writing is still not up to par yet, but I guess you wouldn't be reading this fanfiction if you weren't used to bad writing XD**

 **So, let's just start the third chapter now!**

 **P.S. Sorry this took so long to put out; Midterms start start on 12/16, so I've been busy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - The turning point, the speech of anger**

"Breakfast is ready!" I said in a light voice as I entered the room Charles was in. He was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, with the covers up to his waist. Hearing my voice, he turned to look at me with a smile. A smile! The thought filled me with glee. I've rarely seen smiles - especially directed at myself. Even my mom doesn't smile often. She usual just sells fruit and vegetable in the village and sometimes she heads out to the town to buy some food for the two of us for a cheap price.

I gave Charles the tray that contained a bowl and a spoon.

"More stew?" He asked, with a thin smile, sitting up so he could eat.

"Yes! I made your favorite; do you not want it?" I showed him teary eyes, much like a dog would show when you take its favorite toy away.

"My favorite..." I heard him mutter, but in the next moment he smiled. "Then I'll eat it!" A warm feeling spread throughout my body, and a smile formed on my face.

"Thank you!" I yelled from happiness and excitement. I watched him eat with a smile, though he took his time, he looked like he liked it! Well, of course he did! It _is_ his favorite stew, after all.

He muttered some words looking away from me, but when he looked back at me, he wore a smile. "That was a good meal. Thank you for it." My face grew hot from the praise, and I giggled out of embarrassment. Charles' smile grew upon hearing my laughter.

After cleaning up, we started to talk more.

"Where did your mother - Juliet - go to?" He asked me with a questioning look.

"She traveled to the town." I replied cheerfully.

"The town?"

"Yeah! It's south of here; three days hard ride. She'll be back after a week."

"I see. So she left yesterday, so..." His voice lowered to the point where I couldn't hear him, but I waited patiently for him to finish. He cupped his chin, deep in thought. "That reminds me - where did you sleep last night?" He asked as he turned to look at me, letting go of his chin, but keeping his hand raised.

"Hehe." I giggled. "There is the only one bed here." He blinked.

"Oh, no. So you slept on the ground, or on a cou... you didn't sleep next to me, did you?" I replied with a grin. He slapped a hand on his face, muttered something, and then told me - "Sleeping with a guy that you don't know that well is a bit wrong, ya know?"

"But I do know you!" I argued halfheartedly with a grin

"Not by much..."

I responded with a giggle. He sighed and gave up on the argument.

He then told me of a story that he had heard, about a city underwater he wanted to go to. But because he's only human, he can't go. I asked him why, and he replied - "Humans can't breathe underwater, so I'll drown before I even see it." He told me of a city in the sky - the complete opposite the one underwater. The reason he gave for not being able to go there, was - "Humans can't fly, so it'd be impossible to go there."

His eyes reflected feelings of regret, of sadness, and of the grim face of reality. At least to my young eyes it did.

However, noticing that I was starting to feel down, he plopped a hand on top of my head, ruffled up my hair and gave me an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, little Malina. Though there is a lot of things a human can't do, there are things only we can. That city underwater wasn't always underwater. Same as that city in the sky. Humans built the city, and then natural causes, and magic of some kind affected it. One was flooded and remained underwater, and the other was sent to the sky... somehow. So don't worry! Only focus on what you can do, not what you can't."

My eyes sparkled at his words. He was like a poet! Does being a traveler like him give you knowledge? Going from one place to another - having an adventure - is what made him so strong? As my respect for him grew, I felt like my knowledge was expanding past this tiny village.

Cities located under the ocean, up into the sky, built into the sides of mountains, lands that are dark and light at the same time, lands that are never engulfed in war, people who live in peace, giant waterfalls, lands that cannot be described by mere words! I want to see them!

Charles coughed to get my attention. "Anyway, I don't really want to stay cooped up in here, so how 'bout we go outside and you can show me around the village?" He asked with a charming smile.

My heart dropped at that. I felt my skin go cold. I broke out in shivers all over my body. The thought of going there always scares me, but if I'm by myself, then I can manage it and try to look happy... but if Charles goes there with me, then what will he think? When he sees everyone hating me? Will he hate me? Will he be hated since he's with me?

A groan escaped through Charles' lips as he sat up and threw the covers off himself. "I'll take silence as a yes, ya know?"

He held a neutral look, but to me, it looked like he suspected something was off.

I bit my lip. "S-sure. We can go." I smiled awkwardly.

"Mhm." He hummed. "Is there anything like a crutch here?" He asked, looking around the room.

"Uhm... no. So does that mean that you can't-"

"Then I'll just use my sword. I'll have to bend down a bit, but whatever." He shrugged his shoulders as if it didn't mean much to him. "Can you fetch me my sword?"

"Um, well..." I looked to my left, then right, up, and down. Anywhere that wasn't at Charles. I didn't want to take him to the village, but if he goes as far as saying that he'll use his sword as a crutch! I might as well just take him there. "Actually, there is a cane... I forgot about it!" I said lightly. "I'll go get it right now!"

* * *

I frowned at those words. At first she said that there wasn't a crutch, but now she says there is a cane. When she left the room, I quickly thought to myself. ' _Why did she suddenly get so nervous when I asked if she could show me around the village? Why was there a small stain of dried blood on her shirt near the waist?_ ' What was going on? First she broke out into shivers when I mentioned the village. She grew nervous. She didn't answer, so I started getting more suspicious. When she finally agreed, and I asked for a crutch, she said there wasn't any, and started to ask if that meant that we didn't have to go. So, I said I'd use my sword as one. Then, possibly realizing she couldn't back out, she "remembered" that there was a cane that I could use. Maybe she actually _did_ forget, but I can't be sure.

Either way, her reactions are definitely suspicious for a ten year old girl. I mean, don't kids always want to go outside? I didn't, but then again...

I shrugged my shoulders. I could hear Malina going through things and making a lot of noise in the other room. She must be looking for that cane.

It seems as if it'll take some time...

When Malina came back with the cane, thirty minutes had already passed.

She presented the cane to me and gave me a short explanation about the cane. Apparently, one or two years ago, her mother broke her leg, and Malina hand-crafted a cane for her from some wood. When the two went to sleep, and they slept together, in this bed, Malina would work on fixing and perfecting the cane. Even after her mother healed, and no longer needed the cane, Malina still worked on the cane, and now it was pretty smooth, with nary a rough part to it. It even curved at the top, though just enough for a hand, and it would still be awkward. It must've taken a lot of work to make it.

And so, like that, Malina helped me up, and I used the cane to make my first steps since waking up and after jumping off that cliff and breaking my right leg.

I then discovered that the house Malina and her mom lived in was more of a shack, a hut, or something, and that they lived ten minutes away from the village, pretty much in the forest. Their backyard is basically where I landed when I jumped off that cliff. Luckily, the Risen didn't follow me down, because if they did, Malina and her mom could've died.

Once we entered the village, Malina, going from walking at my side, moved to be behind me. With her head hung down, she followed behind me with small steps.

Of course, just in case, I had brought my sword along, and strapped it to my belt on my left waist in its sheathe. Though I didn't wear any of the armor I had, I figured I didn't need it. And as footwear, I had on some black boots that belongs to Juliet. Apparently we share the same foot size, or at least, close enough.

Since it was a village, we obviously walked past the villagers. Some were walking to some destination, perhaps where the worked, some were just standing around, talking to friends, and some children, who were running around.

I also noticed that everyone we walked by stopped and stared at the two of us. First Malina, then me, then back to Malina with a distasteful look.

I see. Now I understand. So that's why she didn't want to come here. There is obviously a story here, but I'm not going to ask. If she wants to tell me, then she'll tell me. If not, then there is really nothing I can do. However, one thing I can do, is to make sure nobody starts anything with her. If someone comes up to her, intending to do harm, either verbally or physically, I will stop them.

And probably get beaten up even if I was squaring off against a ten year old boy.

I mean, I have a broken leg! What can I do? Well, maybe swing the cane at them... but I don't want to break it.

"...Monster."

"Just die bi-"

"Distasteful."

"Go aw-!"

"Monster!"

I heard many words directed at Malina, some of which I couldn't hear clearly, as another voice spoke over them. I sighed. They haven't done anything other than insult her, and judging by the way she barely reacted to them, it meant that this was a daily occurrence. She was used to it. Then again, I was used to insults too, though I was never really insulted much in my life.

...

Well anyway, if she wasn't harmed by this level of insults, then I won't do anything. Though I'll still be mad.

After a couple of minutes of walking around the relatively small village, with some forty-or-so living here, we settled down at a table. It was apparently a kind of "restaurant" though small, it had two tables outside with two chairs at each one since it had enough space for them. Though the employees here stared at Malina as if they were looking at a bug, I'll just have to put up with it for now.

I looked at Malina. Her body was tense, and her body shook ever so slightly. She must've been thinking about a lot of things.

I can easily imagine one though. One thing she never really had to think about. And that was... "what would happen if I bring someone to the village?" She must be questioning whether I'll be hated because of her, or if I'll come to hate her.

I sighed. No matter which world you are in, there are some people who will just hate you and always attack you. Physically or mentally, it didn't matter.

I reached towards her with a hand. I lowered it gently onto her head of hair. Her body jumped, but after a few seconds, she looked up at me. She stared into my eyes and her own widened slightly.

"I will never come to hate you, so you don't have to worry about me."

I told her.

How could you hate a little girl who has done nothing wrong? I'd understand it if she was ungodly annoying, but I don't think you would _completely_ hate them, I think it'd just be like seeing someone you don't really get along with. It doesn't mean you hate them, you just can't deal with them. That kind of thing?

Well, it doesn't matter. I will never hate this little girl, or any other little girl. I might get annoyed with them from time to time, but I won't hate them for it.

Just then, the sound of a chair being dragged was heard. I turned my head to my right, and let go of Malina's head. A guy who looked to be in his mid-thirties dragged the chair to sit next to me. He had a bushy black beard and black hair that was slicked back. He wore a plain red shirt and black baggy pants with black boots. His arms had a lot of hair on it, but it wasn't enough to be called a werewolf amount.

"Hey there, new in town?" He asked me, not even bothering to look at Malina.

"Yes, first day here, pretty much." I said. This could technically be my first day here, if you don't count how I stayed a day with Malina at her mom's house.

"I see, I see." He nodded his head up and down several times, as if it was obvious. "Then, let me giv' ya a word or two." He definitely gave me more than a word or two, but I'll listen. I waved my hand for him to go on, and he nodded with a smile. "This littl' girl here?" he said, looking at Malina briefly. "She's a monster. You shouldn't ' _associate_ ' with her." He dragged out the word 'associate' with her slightly. But I really can't forgive what he said.

I knew it would be something like this, but to say it in face with her sitting right there? That just pisses me off more. However, before I could give a retort, he continued on.

"I also noticed that your... leg is broken. How 'bout ya let me giv' ya a vulnary, if you help hold down the girl, so I can ge' a few hits in? Don't worry; I'll let ya slug her a few times too."

I stared blankly into his eyes. He pulled out a brown bag, which must be where the vulnerary is kept. ' _A medicinal solution used for healing minor wounds._ ' Is the in-game Fire Emblem description for a vulnerary. Vulneraires are extremely helpful in the beginning of a Fire Emblem game, but the later in you go, the less important they were, as you are being dealt more than ten damage with each hit, and you have more hp to recover.

The reason I so suddenly started talking about vulneraires, is to cool down my anger. To even suggest that to me... This guy was out looking for death.

His smile started to turn awkward as he noticed that I wasn't responding. Malina had looked down when he asked that, but even she looked up at me in confusion when I never responded. Before the man could understand what was happening, she knew what I was thinking almost immediately upon gazing at my eyes, and seeing my hands tighten into a fist under the table.

"A vulnerary... huh?" I let out after a minute of no response.

"Y-yeah..." The man responded with some hesitance. "They are for... minor wounds, and can easily heal your leg. Whether you drink it or spread it on your leg... doesn't matter."

"I see." I smiled. "What are you waiting for? Pass it over to me." The man slowly started to smile, and he handed me the vulnerary. Malina widened her eyes in shock, but then she remembered what I had said to her just before this happened. She... mostly had complete confidence that I wouldn't hurt her.

I opened the bag, and stared inside it. It... kind of looked like a liquid. It was green, and seemed to be slimy? If that is the right word for it. It wouldn't be like water if spilled, so it is probably like a cream that you can... drink.

Weird.

Where the hell did these things come from anyway?

It probably tastes bad...

But I don't want to touch it so I can't spread it on my leg.

Then... I'll just... begrudgingly drink it.

I brought the bag to my lips, and drank. The only word that I could think of to describe the taste, is disgusting.

After I swallowed the shit, I stood up. The man, understanding my actions, stood up as well.

"Then, let's get started..." He looked over at Malina, completely forgetting about the bag that I tied to my waist, on the right. I was keeping it.

Once his eyes were off me, I struck.

My fist smacked against his face, and he fell to the side and to the ground. He laid sprawled out on the ground, holding his face from the pain. My fist hurt a little bit, but I ignored it.

I let my anger take over from there.

"What the hell are you trying to make me do?" I screamed at the man, an angry expression on my face. My eyebrows were scrunched up, and my lip was quivering from the rage. My fists tightened, and if I had longer fingernails, I would've cut into my flesh. The man, and the surrounding villagers, stared at me in surprise. "Are you telling me to help you beat up a little, _defenseless_ girl? Is this how you all live your lives? Beating up, yelling at, and bullying little girls as if they're the ultimate evil?" I mean, I've seen some fucked up anime, but actually seeing something like this really pisses me off.

"D-defenseless?" The man muttered to himself.

"She's a monster!" Another yelled out. Turning to him, I cast my anger unto him. He backed a step away from my intense glare. I never though I could feel this much anger.

"Monster? How? What did she do, that is worse than any other human? Did she kill someone? Did she steal? Did she attack a country and try to destroy it?"

"W-well..." He replied. He couldn't answer me.

Humans will be humans, no matter what world you are in. They'll hate, they'll lie, they'll steal, and kill, and do a many bad act to satisfy themselves. But they can also be loving, compassionate. Humans will frequently hate something they don't understand, whether it was another human, animal, or even a piece of technology. If they didn't know it, if it was an unknown, they'll most likely dislike it.

This must be the same for Malina. She is different than them. She might not even be human. However, before that...

"A little girl." I suddenly said with sadness in my tone. "If you had a daughter, what would you feel if others hated her? If they insulted her, yelled at her, beat her? What would you feel?"

He looked away. I already knew his answer: He'd hate it.

"So, does that mean it was okay to do this to another girl? Whether she is human or not does not matter! First, look at her!" I yelled out, and, following my words, everyone looked at Malina. She squirmed a bit under their gazes, but she managed to meet each gaze at least once. "What is she? A little girl. Ten years old. What can she do to you?" At my words, the villagers looked away.

They hated her, since they didn't know her true self. They saw her as an unknown, a monster. Juliet might not even be her real mother, just someone who decided to take care of her and was pushed away as an effect. Looking at Malina, I knew she wasn't a Taguel, since they actually show animal-like qualities, such as with the ears. I think. I only know them from Awakening, so that might not be the case.

She could be a Manakete. Though I think she'd have long ears. Or she could just be a human that was left here and became hated by everyone.

The answer doesn't matter one bit. All that matters... is that she is a little girl.

Before I could continue my angry rant, on of the villagers, this one a teen who was around my age, stepped before. His face was red with either anger or embarrassment. "W-we don't need a reason to hate a monster!" He yelled.

"Yeah, he's right!"

"Of course he's right!"

"She's a monster; that is all that matters!"

"Shut up!" I yelled louder than the voices. Maybe the entire village heard that, as everyone immediately went silent, and no sound remained but the wind. "How do you classify her as a monster? What tells you that she is a monster? Does she have sharp claws? Teeth? Does she have evil eyes? Does she want to kill all of you? Tell me; what does she look like? Please describe her _appearance_ to me? Is this not tears in her eyes? Is this not a little girl who was hated for who knows how long? To me, she looks like a little girl that is hated for no reason. So tell me. What. Does. She. Look. Like."

The teen faltered. The only way he could describe Malina, was as a monster. Most of the villagers shared this sentiment. However-

"I see a girl who is on the verge of tears." An old voice remarked. I turned to the owner of the voice and saw an old woman. She was bending her back slightly, and she carried a small bag with bread and vegetables in it. I nodded at her, and she smiled.

The other gathered villagers started to chatter to their neighbors, their friends, their family, and whoever was standing next to them talked back.

" _What does this little girl look like?_ "

That was the question they tried to answer. They finally looked past her being a monster, and are now earnestly trying to find the answer to this question.

Is she a monster? Or is she human?

But I did not want to let this continue to develop like this. I was, more or less, a useless person before coming here. I really only watched Youtube videos, and anime, and read the occasional manga, light novels, and played video games. I've read a ton of books made in America, and I've experienced many different written scenes because of this. I've experienced a ton of different situations and I loosely remember them all. Things like what is happening right now has been in several works of art. Whether anime, light novel, manga, game, or some other kind of source. I've read it. I've seen it. And I've dreamt it. If this situation continues on like this, then everything can turn out good. But, there is still a chance it could go bad. Instead of waiting for them, the ones who condemned this little girl as a monster, to finish, I should say one last final thing. But what is it?

What could I say, that could change everything?

Anime episodes passed through my brain. Manga scenes followed. Then lines from light novels. I saw books. I saw games. And then, one particular scene caught my attention. I couldn't exactly remember where it came from, so I couldn't give credit for it and thank it, but whatever, I'll remember eventually.

"Anyway, here's my point. Trivial arguments like this are nothing but common occurrences in everyday life! Getting hung up over pointless crap like this shows that you're a joke! A complete and utter joke! Hating others for no reason; it isn't the first, nor the last time it will happen. But that only shows how much of a joke you are! Get over it! You say she is a monster - but then when you look at yourself in the mirror after beating up the so-called "monster" how do you not see yourself as the monster? You do not even think her a human! Evil is when you use the weak for your own gain and crush them under your foot! You're just using a little girl to feel better about yourself; to relieve some stress via acts of violence. But you know what? You are human, are you not? You are allowed to make mistakes. We all are. But, since you are human, and can make mistakes, learn from them. Do not belittle Malina. Do not hurt Malina. She is just a little kid. Just a small girl. She is no monster; she is human, just like you. She has made mistakes, just like you. She eats the same food, just like you. She sleeps and wakes up, just like you. She lives, just like you. So why is she any different than you? That is just the misguided thoughts of a regular human. But now it is the time to awaken. Stop being fools. Do not stay the same. Change. Become men and women of wisdom and become better than what you were!"

Okay, I might have slipped in a few other kinds of quotes I remembered in there, and changed a few, and screwed some up, but whatever. You take what you get. It might be a bad speech, but at the same time... it might work.

They were silent. Nobody could speak up. I saw some of them look down and loosen up their fists, and some shed tears. I felt my heart beating frantically. That was the first time in my life I blew up like that. I... actually spoke to a large group of people without messing up! Man, this helped me much more than that public speaking class I took last year!

I felt someone pull my shirt from behind. Looking back, I saw Malina, with tears falling down her cheeks. I felt like she wanted to leave, so I smiled and grasped her hand. The two of us started to walk away, and the crowd moved out of our way.

Once we were past the crowd, and a good distance away, I looked back. Most were still there, talking to each other, but some were following us. Though they didn't look hostile in any which way, I couldn't let down my guard.

* * *

We continued walking throughout the village, with Malina finishing showing me around. A few of the villagers tried to start a commotion with us, but they were stopped by those who heard my speech. Malina held my hand tightly, and I didn't let go.

The cane that I was using was strapped in my belt next to my sword, and my left hand was lying on the hilt of the blade. If anyone tried to get physical, I wouldn't hesitate to use my sword. Okay, I probably will, but just pulling it out will probably stop most in their path.

"...And that is everything I know." Malina finished with a yawn. It had taken a total of two hours to go about the village, though we had two breaks to eat or rest our legs, it was still pretty lengthy. The village wasn't that big, I'd saw about normal... though I don't really know what "normal" is. And now, since we finished, we decided to go back home. Nobody had started anything with us, so I was thankful for that. But it wouldn't last for long.

It was when we left, that trouble came. But it wasn't from the villagers.

Two men were at the entrance to the village - the one we came in through - and they wielded axes. They wore fur over their shoulders, baggy pants, boots, leather gauntlets, and, most importantly, were looking for trouble. The one who seemed to be the leader, was bald with a brown beard. The other had short hair and no beard. Both had red war paint painted on their bodies.

"Now, listen up her' y'all." The lead bandit, as he obviously is, said. "If ye just giv' me, and my bud her', all yer gold, we don't hav' to start no troubl'. But if ye don' listen, we will come back, and destroy ye. How's 'bout that?" The other bandit was lightly hitting his shoulder with the axe. Obviously, the actual blade of the axe wasn't hitting him; just the pole thing. The, uh, part before the blades. Or something.

I'm not good at this "describing" business.

About seven villagers, including an old man with white hair and a long beard, who was using a cane to stand up, stood in front of them.

"I-I..." The elder said. He didn't know what to say. I could easily guess why: They needed to gold to live, to pay taxes, to buy food, that kind of thing. But, if he refused, they'll be attacked by a much larger force, and killed.

"Since yer not co-operatin', I'll jus' show some force. It'll help ya thin' quicker." He motioned at the bandit next to him. He grinned savagely and stepped towards the old man. The old man trembled in fear, but nobody stepped in. He hit the cane the old man was using, and it exploded into two with splinters flying everywhere. The old man wobbled to the side a little bit, as he had lost his balance, but he was supported with an arm.

"Oh-oh. Watch old man." The bandit who broke his cane said with a savage smile. He raised his axe.

From the moment he approached the old man, I had already let go of Malina and told her to stay away. When he stopped in front of the old man, I was running towards the crowd. When he broke the cane I had arrived, but I had to go through the men who stood around and did nothing, as they were in the way. When he helped the old man not fall, I had finally broken through the small crowd of useless adults. When he raised his axe, I slid my sword free.

And when he started to swing the axe - I pushed it to the side with my sword with all my strength!

"What?" The bandit yelled as his axe missed the old man and hit the cobblestone ground. His eyes went to his left and focused on me. He crunched his teeth together and his eyebrows knitted up in anger. His arm tensed in anger, he started to raise his axe. Before he could fully raise it, I stabbed at his chest.

His eyes quickly went wide as my sword dug deep into his chest. Though it didn't pierce the heart, or any vital organ, he could bleed out due to a wound like this. I quickly kicked him in the gut, which made him stumble backwards. My sword slid easily out of his chest.

My heart beat was just as quick, no, it was faster than when I gave that speech. The act of talking in front of a crowd cannot compare to wounding another man, and maybe even potentially killing him! Though it was to save a life, I sinned. I was horrified by what I did - by instinct. It is human nature to hurt others. However, I grew up in a world where "hurting" was bad. Especially killing.

But, pushing these thoughts to the back of my head, I decided to throw up later, when I was alone. Though it won't help...

Swallowing some saliva, I pointed my bloody bronze sword at him as he placed his free hand on his chest to try to stop the bleeding. "Leave now, or... die." I said, a bit nervously and nearly throwing up. I managed to swallow it back down.

The two looked at each other, and then at me.

The leader of the two yelled at me. "'cause of ya, ya doomed this village." He turned, and ran. The bandit I stabbed, ran after him, dropping his axe and clutching at his stab wound. However, before the one I stabbed could get too far away, he fell down and stopped moving. He might've died, or he just fell unconscious. Either way, the other one was heading back to the others, and he'll bring them here.

I might've just doomed this village.

"Gramps, are you okay?" I turned and asked the old man.

"Th-thank you..." He said, breathing heavily. I grabbed the cane Malina gave me and slid it out from my belt. I walked over to the old man, and handed him the cane. He accepted it, and stood up, using it to support his weight. I then used my shirt to clean the blood off my sword - vomit entered my mouth, but I pushed it back down - and then sheathed it back at my side. I breathed in deep, and out through my nose.

"I'm sorry." I said, looking up at the sky. The old man looked puzzled. "Because of me, they'll attack this village."

"Ooh." The old man said in understanding. "Don't worry about it youngster; it wasn't your fault. You were just protecting me."

"Even so... I have to... apologize."

"What's the matter? You look pale. Was that the first time you fought a human being?" He looked past me. "And killed one?"

I nodded. I felt sick. I _was_ sick. I could hardly take it. I just wanted to go home, back my world, and lay down. I want to wake up, and say that it was all just a dream. But I couldn't. This was my new reality. This is it. A New Life that I must live. This is my new reality; my new world, and my new home. I couldn't give up now. I have to help him. And the only way to do this...

"Is there anybody here that can..." I swallowed. "Fight?"

"There are some who know how to hunt." The elder replied, smiling in understanding.

I nodded. "Then, we shall fight." The elder nodded and turned to the other adults who had witnessed the entire event. Four were shaking and pale, but the other three were smiling. The three had some large muscles. They might've been farmers, or lumberjacks.

"You four - the ones shaking in your boots! Go spread the word across the village. We will fight! Gather them in the town square." Without waiting for an answer, he turned to the three who were confident. "You three, go to the blacksmith and get him to get weapons ready, and go to the forest nearby and gather the hunters. At this time of day, they'll be near the river, resting. There are forty-six adults here, twelve elders, and twenty-eight children. We aren't much in number, but for those who wants to fight for the village, for their family, their loved ones, and their lives, we will fight to our end." He finished saying to me. "How do you want us to fight?" He asked.

"Well, I have... some ideas." I smiled devilishly, though the action nearly made the puke rush out my mouth. The old man sighed.

"Go around the building over there and puke if you have to." The men laughed at that. "And you! Get going!"

"Yes sir!" The men ran off, four going to gather the villagers, and the three going to the blacksmith.

"Dear child, I ask of you to return home." The elder said to Malina. She looked over at me.

"B-but, uhm..."

"She's with me." I said, walking as fast as I could to get behind the building. If I ran, I would puke. If I go to slow, I'll puke. And by speaking too loudly, I'll puke.

Well, after I puke, I'll probably puke some more.

Yeah I'm gonna have some nightmares.

"I see." I heard the elder say, though just barely. He might've said some more, but I wasn't in a listening mood. The second I turned the corner around the stone and wooden house, I vomited.

* * *

 **Welp, there ya go. As said earlier, sorry it took so long to finish - I was preparing (via gaming, watching videos, and slacking off) for my midterms. I was totally doing all my work.**

 **Well, an epic (probably not) speech, and the threat of bandits - barbarians - ruffians - savages - is looming ever so closely. The villagers will be preparing to fight, and it seems as if Charles here has some plan of sorts. Also, he is probably going to be traumatized for a good thirty years. Nightmares everyday, baby!**

 **Sigh... how did this get so dark so quick? Well, whatever. Anyway, if there are any mistakes (there are definitely some in here (a lot)) please let me know. I'll fix it. If there is something you don't exactly understand, please pm me or leave it in the review. I will answer your question, much like God answers the peoples prayers... Oh, wait...**

 **So, the speech. Obviously, it probably won't make much sense, that was probably the first speech I ever wrote, and I couldn't think of ANYTHING! So I just went everywhere. On topic, off topic, fuck all the essays I've ever written! I have zero skill in this.**

 **So, uh... please favorite, follow, if you enjoy, and please ignore my shameless self as I crouch in the corner waiting for you to do so, and please leave a review about why I should kill my(you)self.**

 **Have a good Christmas?**


	4. The Battle

**To be, or not to be, that is not the question. What is the question, is whether or not I can fish this chapter before midterms end... the answer... is probably not.**

 **So, some reviews must be responded to.**

 **Koal -** _Ah, yes, I know. I was just saying things that probably made no sense to others because everything within my head makes perfect sense, I said it like that._

 **NightShade 0-1 -** _For the sea, it was mostly the City of Atlantic, and as for the sky, I just thought of Dragon Quest, the one where you're an angel. Pretty much like that. But, unfortunately, I have never played Bioshock, so I never thought about it like that XD (pleb who can't get good games to play)._

 **Now, I should probably stop wasting all of your time. However... I must now give a speech to waste your time! There is only one problem... I'm too lazy to think it up, so let's just start the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - The battle, the truth**

It has been three days since those bandits appeared, and I have had nightmares every time I closed my eyes to sleep. From stabbing that bandit in the chest, and seeing him die, traumatized me. Truthfully, I thought I would never be affected by that, but I guess I was just deluded. Well, after three days, I got over it... Kind of.

Let's just say, it's a work in progress.

I know I'll have to see more people die, and I might even kill again, but this is something that just has to be done. If I convince myself that they aren't human, but vegetables, would that help? I don't like vegetables. Especially carrots.

So, over the three days, I have gotten a lot of things done. Well, it was mostly the villagers, and I told them what to do, but whatever. Since there was a blacksmith, I had him make a few weapons. What kind of weapons? Well, I first went with the whole idea of using swords, since they are stronger than axes in the FE world, but then I thought about it.

Even twenty foot spears can kill a lord, so how 'bout a bandit?

Was what I came up with.

Unfortunately, the blacksmith denied my request... but I did get him to make fifteen feet lances. Though, the average lance is four meters, which is about thirteen feet...

There are forty-six adults here, twelve elders, and twenty-eight children.

So, keeping that in mind, I had twenty lances made, and gave them to the children old enough. Fun fact, the youngest child in the village was actually Malina at age 10. The second youngest was 11. From there, they only got older, so it kind of worked out. The lances are for keeping the bandits at bay, and stabbing them. Obviously. There are four hunters out of the forty-six adults, who were trained with the bow. I had them train two more hunters, or archers, for the second part of my plan.

Huh? First part? That would be meeting them on battle with ten of the lances.

What? It won't work? Ha! I actually read a little ol' manga called Kingdom, I know my shit! Then again, they were trained soldiers...

Three days is good enough, right?

Whatever.

The twelve elders will not be participating in the battle, but they helped me come up with strategies using their ancient wisdom. Unfortunately, they weren't much help. Never planning out battles, or reading about them, does that.

So far, the number of combatants are thus: twenty children in their early or latter teens using lances to stab the bandits and keep them at bay. Six hunters, or archers, to shoot at them. But, that leaves me eight children, and forty adults! What ever shall I do with them?

For the eight children, I plan on them "accompanying" the archers and attacking with rocks. They will be used when the bandits goes after the ranged units to keep them distracted enough so that they can't immediately get to them. The rest of the adults, when will be using swords and axes.

We have eleven bronze axes, and one iron axe, which came from the bandit that had unfortunately died, and is being used by the blacksmith with his almighty arm power.

I mean, when you're hitting a hammer against an anvil all day, ya kind of get strong. Like, really strong.

If only we had an over-sized hammer to give him...

Alas, we do not have the resources for that.

The rest of the adults have swords.

So, to summarize who has which weapon and how many: Adults: six archers, twelve axemen, and twenty-eight swordsmen. Children: twenty lancers, and eight rock throwers.

And yes, Malina is part of that group, since they are the most protected.

Now, what battle strategy have I decided on, you probably didn't ask but I will still answer?

First, twenty swordsmen and ten lancers will attack from the front. First the child lancers will run forth and stab forth, and then the adult swordsmen will run past them. The children will fight in groups of five, so two groups and they will focus on assisting the adults who are fighting with swords. You can probably imagine how that will work. That is step one. Step two, is attacking from the sides on top of buildings with my hidden archers as well as rock throwers. We've placed tons of rocks on top of some of the buildings, as well as a few planks, just in case they need to switch buildings. Three hunters and four rock throwers on each side. By the reason, the reason I went with throwing rocks, is because children don't really have the arm strength to use bows. Unless, of course, they were trained, but in three days? They won't really have the time. Stage three is ramming from behind.

Yes, I plan to pincer them!

A frontal assault, plus a side attack, and then a behind-the back attack! Amazing! So, stage three consists of the rest of the lancers, the rest of the swordsmen, and the axemen, and leading them, is the blacksmith with his amazing arm muscles.

In this battle, I have a total of seventy-four combat units, which is higher than any battle in FE, not counting reinforcements up-the-butt with the enemy.

So, with this all planned, where do I, the commander of said battle, the seventy-fifth unit, be?

Obviously, I'd be far, far away, watching over the battle... Is what I would like to say. Unfortunately, as the commander, I must be up close and personal, and part of stage one. So, attacking first kind of sucks, however! Since I must send some signs to begin the next two stages, I will start my attack after all three stages have been complete. Yes, a fourth stage!

In that time, I must spy who the enemy commander is, in this case, the brigand leader, the bandit chieftain, the guy who calls the shots.

I also can't die. I'd rather not like to die. It will be very painful. My goal in this battle, is thus: Defeat the enemy without getting involved, or get through the battle without taking a single scratch!

I feel like I'll be bleeding a lot, but that is just my paranoia!

Another case of my legendary paranoia, is when a girl in my class looks in my general direction. Fifteen times. A class. So... is she into me? Who knows. Maybe she is looking at the board... which just so happens to be right to my left. Or maybe she is looking at someone who is sitting next to me!

Or maybe, she just likes me!

Or she can see ghosts and I'm being haunted.

Like that one time I was punched when I was in bed, but nobody was there...

Maybe someone in FE can see ghosts? That would be neat and will totally not be used in a plot point later in this totally not a story, wink, wink.

"Hm?" The village elder, the one from the bandit incident three days ago, said.

"What?" I responded back.

"Why did you say wink twice?"

"Uh... You're just imagining it."

"...Right."

...Yeah I am not going insane. Definitely not. I do not have a voice in my head that tries to break the fourth wall, but fails, since there is not fourth wall to break. This isn't a story, this is real life and I am scared shitless. Actually, since I had already went to the bathroom (to vomit) to take a good quality shit, I was actually shitless.

Now, let's ignore how vulgar and disgusting that was.

Currently, I was in a meeting with the twelve other old people of the village. Though, it was just basically making sure everything was all good.

That was when one of the hunters barged into the room we were in.

He wore a leather hat, had sleek brown hair, and a closely shaved beard.

"The bandits were spotted approaching the village gate!" He yelled. He was breathing heavily, which meant he must've ran quite a long distance.

"How many?" I asked calmly. Though on the inside, I was panicking. I'd rather the bandits never came, to be completely honest.

"I spotted around twenty to thirty." He continued.

"I see." An old man said, cupping her old chin with her old hand.

"That gives us a numerical advantage. However, they are obviously better trained and more ruthless. But, if we manage to force them into a corner, they might run away." The elder said in his slow voice.

"True, but they might not run, and we might have to make a lot of sacrifices before that point. It takes three days to get to the town, so..." Replied the old woman.

"Okay." I interrupted. "The less they have, the better for us. Just follow the plan. We might have a few losses, but we will win; I guarantee that." I spoke confidently, but I must stress... I. Am. Panicking!

The village elder nodded. "I trust your judgement, child. Your abilities in tactics are our only bet."

"Thank you for the kind words." Huh? Abilities in tactics? I have... roughly none. I mean, I may be good at chess, Fire Emblem, Advanced Tactics, Advanced Wars, checkers, Civilization, Mount and Blade, Final Fantasy, and some others, but that doesn't mean that I'm good at tactics!

...Oh, wait... I am actually surprisingly good at this. So many strategy games, manga, anime, and other sources have prepared me for this! If I lose this battle I will jump off a cliff, and maybe this time, I might die!

Well, enough dark thoughts. My heart has finally stopped beating erratically, so I guess I should get everyone prepared for combat.

"Get everyone ready to battle! To positions!" I yelled, swinging my arm upwards.

"Yes!" The hunter saluted, with a hand to his head, and quickly left to gather everyone. I released a sigh of relief.

"Then, I will be heading out." I grabbed my sheathe and hooked it back to my belt. I had Malina bring me my armor as I worked out the strategy three days ago, and I have only taken it off to sleep and to relax.

With my equipment set, I headed out.

* * *

I waited about ten meters away from the village gate, with ten lancers and twenty swordsmen behind me. I stood there, waiting for the enemy to appear. I had the hunters and rock throwers waiting on the roof top, three and four to the left and three and four to the right, just up ahead. The rest of the swordsmen and axemen were hiding past where I planned to fight the bandits, so they could hit them from behind.

After a few minutes, I could just barely see the bandits coming. They were too far away to properly make out. After a while, they were just outside the village. Most of them had axes in their hands, on strapped to their backs, with the rest having swords.

The children behind me started to tremble when they saw the bandits entering the village. I looked back for a moment, and smiled at them. Looking forward, I waited for the bandits to get closer. Then-

"Men!" I yelled out. "In front of you is the enemy who is threatening your livelihood. With them here, the only thing left for you, is to attack! Why have you been training these past couple of days for? Just to sit back and die? No! You trained to fight! Look forward! Put your chest out! Even if you aren't properly trained, we have strategy! We have the numerical advantage! We have the _reason_ to not lose! So, why would we let them win, and us lose? I say nay! I say win! Look forward and see your enemy! They are the ones who will lose, not you! Death is unacceptable, do you hear me? Now... Attack them, and win!"

With the cheers of the men and young men behind me, I gave out my instructions, even as the bandits started running towards us.

"Lancers, forward! Stop the bandits with your lance and give support to the swordsmen! Swordsmen, after the lancers! Once they attack, get in front and protect them! Do not let the enemy through! Attack!"

I slashed my right arm through the air, and with a yell, the lancers charged forward with their lances pointed towards the bandits. The swordsmen were right behind the lancers.

I stood in place. I had to give the signal to start the second and third stage, so I couldn't really join the battle yet. I'd rather it end before I have to join in, as I don't want to die, or get hurt, but... I made them do this, so I have to join in.

As the bandits entered the lancers range, the lancers thrusts their lances forward, out of sync. Some of the bandits managed to easily dodge, but a second lance hit them in the side. I told them to have a partner and to attack the same bandit as your partner. So, if the bandit were to block, or dodge, the partner would finish him. Which is why they were out of sync.

Immediately after that first attack, before the bandits were close enough to attack with their axes or swords, the swordsmen jumped ahead and attacked the bandits. Swords rang against swords and axes, and sparks shot through the air. The lancers took a step back, and when they could, they stabbed their lances forward at a bandit in support of the swordsmen. In some cases, it was to protect them, in others, to distract the bandit, and to attack them.

Bodies dropped fast in the beginning, but it slowed down quickly. From that first part, six bandits hit the ground, and for our side, we lost only one swordsman.

A bandit hit the ground after he was stabbed by two lances, one in the leg, and another in the side, and after getting his throat cut by a sword. The villagers were doing well, especially since I grouped them up. Twenty swordsmen, ten lancers. I grouped them like this: Two lancers together with four swordsmen. So there was a total of five groups of six units. They attacked together, or as together as they can get. As the swordsmen protected the lancers, and distracted the bandits, the lancers attacked the bandits, sometimes hitting them, other times leading to them being hit, and to distract them.

But, even though the enemy had a few casualties, it didn't mean we were safe. We lost a swordsmen and a single lancer too.

Earlier I was told that the bandits had between twenty to thirty in number. If I had to say, I would say that they had twenty-five in number. In the first stage, we pitted thirty units against them. Though they weren't that well trained, they managed to take out a few. Now, I would say that there were twenty-one against seventeen.

I think it is time to start the second stage before we get overrun. I mean, the bandits are trained for combat, so if we take it too slow...

I signaled with my left hand, swiping to my right near my leg.

A few seconds later, I saw arrows start firing from my left.

Someone from the bandit side immediately yelled-

"Watch out for arrows! Right side!"

I tried to locate who said that, but he was lost within the mob.

I signaled with my right hand, swiping to my left.

Arrows were shot from my right. Then-

"Arrows! Left side!"

I saw him! He was most likely the leader.

From what I saw, he seemed to be the strongest. He entered the front several times, and was the cause for a few of the swordsmen deaths, and the single lancer who had- make that two that had died. I clicked my tongue. Then, two bandits broke away from the group, one going to the left and the other right. They must've been sent to take out the archers.

However!

I had the rock throwers watch out for those kinds of groups, so they should alert the archers and start throwing rocks at them from behind. If they make it up, the archers will easily be able to take them out. Though, it will be a bit tricky to get up there, as there are no ladders or boxes that can be used to get up. You have to scale the building. Plus, there are planks up on the roofs, so if it gets dangerous, they can simply move on to another building and continue attacking.

There were now around twelve bandits left, including the two that had left, while I had seventeen fighting them. Seven lancers remained with ten swordsmen. At the sides, I had six archers, three on each side, shooting them, as well as four rock throwers on each side, protecting them.

But... I think I should wrap this up. I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, as if yelling through a megaphone-

"Time to finish this! Charge!" My men up front yelled and attacked with a frenzy, but that was to only distract them from what was going to come from behind. The remaining eight swordsmen and twelve axemen ran out in front of the village entrance from one of the houses and started to approach the bandit group from behind. Of course, they moved as quietly as they could, but if there wasn't fighting and everyone was quiet, they would immediately be found out.

But, there was too much sound to pick them out. Before they could reach the bandits, two swordsmen and a lancer fell down, dead. I pursed my lips.

I think it was time to enter the fray myself. I gripped the hilt of my sword with my right hand.

The group from behind reached the bandit group.

Immediately four dropped them with attack from behind. They were quickly surrounded. Seven bandits and their leader, making eight, were left. The leader immediately recognized what was happening, and had his men make a circle. He knew, that they were finished if they don't hold out. And so, he minimized the openings they had as a group, and kept everyone close to each other.

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled through my nose. I drew my sword and started walking forward.

Once I neared the group, the lancers noticed noticed me, and moved out of the way for me. I didn't like that they took their eyes off the enemy, but they were back enough say as to not be attacked.

"As the commander of this battle..." I started, drawing eyes, ally and enemy alike to me. "I will be ending this battle by taking the enemy leader's head." I stared as threatening as I could at who I picked out as the bandit leader. "And so, any last words?" I felt like puking at the thought of killing someone, and at seeing the villagers dying, as well as the bandits.

"Hah!" He responded immediately. "Like I'll be taken down by a kid like you!"

Narrowing my eyes, I pointed my blade at him.

"Then so be it. Men - keep the rest of the bandits busy. This guy is mine." Though I could've just had everyone rush him, I wanted to pay my respects for the men and children who died here. If I didn't fight, wouldn't that make me a coward? Besides, in this world, I had to become strong, or I'd die when shit hits the fan later down the road.

The villagers cheered and renewed their attack - though they didn't attack the leader, who pointed his own sword at me.

"You must be eager to die. If you just sent all of them at me, then a couple would've died, but at least you'll still be alive and kicking." With a sneer on his face, he leaped forward, slashing his iron sword down at me with both hands.

I took a step back and to the left, avoiding the slash. I followed up with a slash from the right, but he brought up the sword faster than I could attack, and he blocked me.

I didn't just plan out this battle or train the villagers the past three days, ya know? I also trained myself!

If he had blocked this same strike from three days ago, I might've let go of my own sword, or lost my balance! But now...

I managed to keep my own feet! Just barely!

But as for my sword...

It was firmly planted in my hand! I lifted the blade and pulled it back. I slashed diagonally at him, but he parried it to the side. He then shoved an elbow into my ribs. I groaned slightly, but I immediately attacked by slashing back at him. I spun my body to the right, and slashed my sword at him. However, he jumped lightly back and the blade just cut through his leather armor. He pulled his sword to shoulder level, and stabbed forward!

I moved out of the way to my left, and cut at his knees. He hopped over the blade and rolled against the ground. He got up quicker than I could turn around and attacked by bashing the hilt of his sword into my head. I stumbled away a few steps, and I could feel the warmness of blood flow from my head. My vision went hazy, and I stumbled in place, even as I righted myself. My vision moved as if I was dizzy, and a loud beating sound was heard within my head. I couldn't hear anything around me, but I still had to fight.

I cursed underneath my breath and lunged!

Smiling, he slashed horizontally at my sword to block my sword. But, he failed for my feint. Before his blade could crash into mine, I spun to my left and pulled back my sword. His eyes went wide, but he couldn't stop his swing. I slashed horizontally with my spin, and the sword cut through his chest slightly. Blood spilled down onto my blade, but I didn't spare the time to think about it - thought I felt a rumbling in my stomach, I ignored that too.

I stopped my spin and thrust my blade at his chest. But, he brought up his sword at the tip of my blade struck the hilt of his sword. Surprised at this, I pulled back. He pressed his own attack and I stumbled back, dodging and blocking slashes and stabs. Then, he attacked downwards at me, and I blocked horizontally, but then he lifted his leg, and kicked me in the stomach.

I nearly threw up with that, but I swallowed my bile before it was too late. And some spit along with it.

I moved my head quickly to the right, as his sword cut through my flesh. If I didn't move, his blade would've stabbed me in the head, instead of just cutting my cheek. I kicked at his leg, but he jumped back. I then slashed from the bottom left to top right, but he parried. He stabbed downwards at me, but with some maneuvering, the blade bounced off my left shoulder guard. I kneed him in the gut, and slashed at his face. He twisted away, and the sword only lightly scratched his cheek. But he didn't stop twisting, and he even added a jump to it. I was confused.

I wasn't after his other leg smashed into the side of my head. I fell over to my left and nearly hit the ground, but I managed to stop myself with a hand to the ground. I got up quickly and turned back to him, but he was gone. I blinked. And then I felt a searing pain as his sword stabbed through my right shoulder.

"Aghh!" I screamed, and broke away from him. Blood spilled down from my wound and on his sword.

He smiled at me and licked some of the blood of the blade. Then, before I knew it, he rushed at me, stabbing at my face. I backed away and moved my head left and right, trying to dodge the stabs. My face was cut multiple times. Then, raising my sword, I swat his sword away from my face. Before he could recover, I stabbed back at him! I cut him twice against the face before he slashed horizontally at my legs, forcing me to jump back. He followed with a quick jump and a knee to my face. I pulled my head back, and, just as I started to cover my face with my left hand, I jumped to my right and rolled against the ground. His sword slashed harmlessly through the air where I was standing. I stood back up slowly. I backed away from him. I stopped when I was around five to seven meters away from him.

"What, you scared?" He asked.

I scoffed. "Never! Just thought I'd try out a new move, or something." He scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion.

"A new move?" He questioned. Not answering, I started running towards him at a slow run. He shrugged his shoulder and started to move towards me, but before he could take a step, I tossed my sword upwards!

This was something I saw in an anime a few weeks before ending up here! This... didn't really work out too well for the one who tried it, as they ended up dead a few minutes later, but I'm sure it won't go that way with me! Unless I miss the grab, or something...

Obviously, my opponent followed the sword with his eyes. He looked up as I sped up and lowered myself closer to the ground.

A second too late, he noticed what was happening, and looked down, but as soon as he did, I punched him hard in the face. Then I kneed him in the gut. He took a step or two back, with his his left arm on his stomach, and his body bending down. As he started to stand up straight, I looked up and held up my arms for the catch!

Please work, please work, please work!

And-

I nearly stumbled on the hilt, but I successfully caught my sword! I immediately, without hesitance, brought the sword down and slashed at his body! I definitely did not let gravity do its thing!

Anyway, the blade sliced easily through his leather armor, from his left shoulder to his right hip and a fountain of blood sprayed outward! However...

He had lightly jumped back, just enough to avoid his death! The slash was still a serious one, and if he doesn't get it treated soon, he might just end up dead at the side of the road somewhere.

But he had evaded my instant-kill combo that I totally did perfectly!

"...Haha...hahaha!" The man laughed! "Something like that? Do you seriously think SOMETHING LIKE THAT will end me?" Before I could respond, he pulled back his sword and bashed the pommel into my forehead. I stumbled backwards. Blood spilled down from my broken flesh. My vision blacked out for a second, but it came back quickly. My vision swam and it was hard to see anything around me. I shook my head and stared forward, even as my legs shook. The man stood his ground and did not come after me. And like that, a certain amount of distance was put between us. "Come at me." He taunted, a serious look on his face. "I will strike you down, right here, right now. I do not care if I die afterward - I will kill you, who led to this situation."

He then yelled a war cry, and ran at me. I did the same, minus the war cry. He brought his sword up for a diagonal cut, and I brought mine up for a stab. I held my sword with a single hand, but just as I was thinking of grabbing the sword with my left hand, he slashed down at me.

The blade slashed through my armor and cut through my flesh, causing blood to spray out of my wound and soak my clothes. Stunned, I paused for a second. But then, I gripped my sword harder with my right, and grabbed it with my left!

I stabbed at the man's chest, and the blade cut through with only a little resistance from his leather armor!

He coughed up blood.

With a sword through his chest, the fight ended.

I mean, It couldn't continue. It was over. For me.

My eyes grew hazy. The pain was unbearable. I tried pushing it all to the back of my head, but with that last cut across my chest... I just couldn't ignore it. The pain from the cuts, the pain from being hit in the head, the aches from my muscles and bones... It was too much. So, with a blurry vision, I fell down. My sword snapped apart along with me, and I hit the ground with a heavy thud, with only the hilt and a couple of inches of the blade, held loosely in my right hand. My eyelids were nearly closed, but I could hardly see anything. Then, they closed and everything turned black.

* * *

Once Charles, the "commander" of the villager "army" fell down, the villagers all stared at him, with some having open mouths due to the shock, and some who seemingly stopped breathing. Before he went down, the remaining bandits were subdued. Either they died, or were knocked out, the villagers did not care at this point.

The bandit leader, who, at the end, struck down Charles, but was stabbed too, stood tall. He did not fall. He stumbled a step, but he remained standing. Later, his eyes were described as being red with anger, though they were actually brown. He started to fall, but he stabbed his sword into the ground, stopping his fall. He breathed with a raspy breath. A coat of death hung off him. He was going to die. But he was still alive at this moment.

"This brat..." He breathed. He looked down at his left from where he stood, holding onto his sword. "He is... pretty good at the sword. A... prodigy, maybe. However... if I let him live, my pride as a bandit... no, as a swordsman... will be shattered!"

15 years ago, this man joined the army of Ylisse, and fought for the previous Exalt against Plegia. He used to be a simple peasant at the age of twenty, but from serving in the conscripted army of peasants, he became strong. He wielded a sword in battle, and he killed many a Plegian soldier. However, once the Ylissean Exalt died, the war ended, and the peasants were sent home. However, many peasants came back to the same scene: Their village destroyed by bandits or destroyed from the war.

Either way, this man, Brasord, came home to a destroyed and burned down village, and he cursed the new Exalt, Emmeryn. She had ended the war instead of continuing it. And what did that lead to? He came home to nothing. He only had the clothes on his back and an iron sword.

And so, he left Ylisse and became a mercenary. Fifteen years later, Plegia was trying to incite Ylisse into war with them. Brasord saw this as an opportunity to get back at the new Exalt, and to get money. At age thirty-five, he was leaving his prime, but he still fought. He left Plegia and started to hit villages. When the two countries went to war, he planned on enlisting in the Plegian army and fighting Ylisse. He planned to personally slay the new Exalt, which would gain him fame. He would then rise up to General, and the rest of his life would be secured.

However, that ended with the third village he decided to attack.

He always sent two fellow bandits down to the village and demand all their gold. If they refused, he would then lead the rest to destroy the village, and if they gave him all the gold... well, he'll declare that they were tricking them, and still destroy the village.

However, at the third village, he fought a skilled tactician. Though his skills with the sword were not the best, he concluded that he had hardly picked up the sword. He was smart, so why use a sword? His battle with him, from start to finish, showed this.

How he attacked with a force up front, using lancers to hit the bandits from a set distance, and using the swordsmen to protect them. By using archers later in the battle to attack from the rooftops at the sides. And by then attacking from behind with another force.

It was brilliant. Though his men were more trained, they were simply bandits, who used to belong to the army, or were once peasants. They were not properly trained soldiers, but they were more trained than these peasants, which he only had three days to train.

But they still won.

Brasord and this tactician fought at the end, even as the remaining bandits he had with him fell in battle, their morale nearly zero.

He fought with no style, but he managed to hold in there. Then when he threw his sword upwards, he drew Brasord's attention up, and tricking him at the same time. That was a technique he never saw before, and something he never would've thought up. However, he managed to keep a clear mind, even as he figured out his enemies plan. He looked down, and was punched, and then kneed in the gut. Even then, he knew what would happen if he stayed still. And so, he stumbled back, and then lightly jumped backwards, just as the sword came down on him.

If he did not stumble with the hilt, Brasord might've died.

But, the final strike, was what determined the outcome. Brasord slashed his opponent across the body, and he stabbed him in the chest.

Nothing more, nothing less. There was no "style" to his attack, it was just a simple wild slash at his opponent, hoping to take him down with one final attack. But he persevered and stabbed Brasord with his bronze sword, which snapped at the hilt as he fell down.

Brasord nearly fell with him, but he kept standing. He couldn't fall down. A swordsman like this... if he let this boy live, just what would happen in the future? Brasord had only one goal: To kill the current Exalt.

This goal stemmed from the anger and frustration he felt when he returned back to this village. And so, coming from this revenge, he knew: This boy would definitely become an asset to the Exalt. And so, he decided to end his life by killing such a meddlesome brat. To kill the Exalt... this boy must done. Is the conclusion he came too.

Picking up his sword, he aimed it at the back of the defenseless boy, who was only a little younger than when he first enlisted into the army.

"Die." He said with a raspy voice, and stabbed the iron sword, that had a few cracks in it, down at his back.

However, before the blade came into contact with his armor, something hard hit him in the side of the head.

Because of this, the trajectory of his stab was messed up, and the blade merely cut into the side of his armor, not even cutting flesh.

A rock. A rock was thrown at him, and it struck him in the head. It was well-aimed, Brasord complimented. But he then grew anger. Who dares, to throw a rock, at me!?

The rock hit the left side of his head, and blood was already surging out of the small wound. His vision shook, either from the hit to the head, or from anger. But, he reasoned mere moments later, it was probably from both - the pain and anger. He looked to his left, and then slightly upwards, where a little girl stood at the edge of one of the buildings. A second rock was already in her hands, and she was preparing to throw it.

But, before she could, Brasord yelled in anger, and grabbed a small knife he kept on his belt and threw it with all his strength. The blade flew true, and stabbed into the girl's chest, right below her left shoulder. With a yelp, the girl fell back and out of his view. Then, he turned towards the boy. It was time to kill him. Just as he raised his sword, he heard a yell. Several yells, in fact. They came from all around him, and so, Brasord stopped what he was doing, and looked around.

Everyone around him, who wielded a sword or lance, was angry. Either they got over their shock from seeing the girl probably die, or they were moved to action by the girl. Either way, their energy was renewed, and Brasord knew then: He was going to die. Not a regular death. He was going to be broken. Even when he dies, his body will still be attacked until nothing was left.

He was scared of this, but if he was going to die...

He looked at the boy once more, but before he could do anything, an arrow hit him in the right hand, and the sudden pain and force made him release hold of his sword. It clattered down to the ground.

Oh well. He had another knife. He reached to his belt with his left hand, and grasped the small blade. But before he could pull it free, an arrow hit him in the left shoulder. Then another in his left waist. A third landed in hid right knee, at an angle, and a lance was stabbed through his back from behind.

His thoughts stopped, and his vision went white. He couldn't feel anything, even as a swords ripped through his body, lances stabbed into him, or arrows flying into him. His mind completely stopped a moment later, as an arrow found its home in the side of his head.

And thus, Brasord died and Charles was saved.

* * *

It was a few days later that I woke up. Of course, at the time, I didn't know a few days had passed. I looked around the small room in confusion. It wasn't the same room as the one I stayed at with Malina.

After a few minutes of laying in bed, I heard the sound of the door opening, and I looked at who had entered: It was Juliet, Malina's mom. I was surprised to see her, and she was surprised to see me awake. The surprised expression she made disappeared a moment later, and she walked over to the bed I lay on. She hugged me then, and told me everything was alright; the village was saved, thanks to me.

I asked her how long I was out, and she told me that it had been four days since I was last awake. So she had either gotten back yesterday, or early this morning.

"Where is Malina?" I asked her. She smiled, and grabbed my covers. Before I knew what she was doing, she lifted them up to reveal a head of brown hair.

"Ever since then, I was told that she has stayed at your side. Really sweet of her, huh?" I nodded in agreement.

I became her only friend, if you could call me that, so of course she would worry about me, as I was the only one, minus her mother, who didn't hate her.

And so, the two of us started to talk, but after a while, I noticed that she was distracted with something. When I asked her what it was about, she told me.

"About Malina... there is something I have to tell you about her. I originally didn't plan on telling you, but I guess now... I have to. Malina... isn't my daughter."

"W-what?" I asked dumbly. It was kind of obvious, if you thought about it. I mean, they didn't really look much alike!

"We found her four years ago, when she was six. It was me, and my husband back then. Though he died last year in an accident..." She looked away, tears glistening in her eyes. "There was also a note. Telling us her name, Malina, and... what she was.

"A mix between human and Manakete. She was human and Manakete. However, her Manakete blood was dormant, so she doesn't have her 'Manakete' powers, or whatever... Which is also why she doesn't look like a human. But, last year, something happened."

It was again with 'last year'.

Last year, Malina made a cane for her mother. Last year, Juliet's husband died. Last year... what happened?

"It was an accident. We - the three of us - were out in the woods. A bear had shown up, a big grizzly bear. Of course, we ran. Back then, the shack that me and Malina stay at was used as the hunter's lodge. So, as we were near it, and we knew they were preparing to go out hunting, we headed there. However, Malina tripped on a root. The bear caught up with us and attacked her. Jacob, my husband, rushed in and tackled the bear. Though... it didn't really do much. He told us to run. I grabbed Malina, who was bleeding from the head and passed out, and carried her away. That was the last time I saw Jacob." Tears flowed down from her eyes. "I was hurrying. I saw the shack, and I saw the four hunters at the time, exit it. I yelled at them, and they saw me... and the bear. But, I tripped. I sprained my ankle and Malina was tossed from my arms. The hunters fought the bear. They shot their arrows at it, but it still claimed another life. Then, as they were inspecting Malina's wound, the blood suddenly disappeared. It was as if it was flowing back into her wound... and the wound, disappeared. It was like it was never there in the first place. We were all shocked. They then called her a monster... and left. They went back into the shack, grabbed all of the gear they had in it, and left. When the two of us returned to the village, we found that our house was burned down and we were forced to leave... but, the ever so merciful village elder gave us a home. The hunter's lodge. I learned later two of the hunters felt guilty over what had happened, and decided to give us that lodge." She shook her head. "If they felt guilty, why did they tell the others, and burn down our home? Of course, it was rebuilt into a new house later, but that's not the point. We found out that day, that though Malina's Manakete blood was dormant, her abilities to heal herself, like any other Manakete, was still there. This, in turn, turned her into a monster, as you probably saw when you entered the village."

She exhaled her remaining breath, and looked away.

"Of course, since you came here... the village has changed their opinion. Though I'm sure some still see her as a monster, the majority do not harm her anymore. Nor do they yell at her. Or charge her unfairly for anything she wants to buy. Her life here has gotten better... though she is still scared. But..." She sighed. "Look at her ears."

I blinked in surprise, and did as she told. I lifted the covers and with my other hand, I moved her hair away, until I could see her ears. They were sharp. They reminded me of Nowi's, Nah's, and Tiki's ears. Her Manakete powers were awakened.

"I also have a Dragonstone. It was left with her when we found her. Though if you ask me, I wouldn't have been able to tell it apart from a regular stone if it wasn't mentioned in the note..."

I stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds, and then down at the sleeping form of Malina. This answered my questions about her. Well, most of them.

In any case, all I can really do at this point, would be to get better... and then leave. I, of course, wanted to see the world. But I also wanted to help it, which meant I had to join the Shepherds... but did I really want to? If I join them, how can I help those who they never come across? Maybe another time, I will.

But for now...

"Did you hear any rumors about the Shepherds when you were away?"

"The Shepherds?" Juliet asked. "Well... I actually heard the day I left, that they were planning on heading to Regna Ferox in a few days. By now, they might've left already. Why are you asking? Are you thinking about joining?"

"Um, well... I don't know. My next destination... is north. So if I see them... maybe?" I was purposefully vague.

"I see. So you were heading north when you turned up at the bottom of that cliff... right?"

"Y-yeah." I couldn't tell her I had no idea where I was going, or what the hell was happening.

"In any case, before you leave, make sure you properly say goodbye to Malina."

After Juliet left, I stayed lying down in bed, staring up at the ceiling. I was thinking. In the original Fire Emblem Awakening story line, a character named Malina does not exist. However, that doesn't mean that she, this village, and any other character also does not exist, if they are not directly in the game. Such as the leader of the bandits - he had crafted his own story through his life. You just never think about these kinds of things when you play the game, but when you enter the game, they become really obvious.

Will you be the main character? Will you be one of them, a supporting character, or will you just be a background character?

Nobody wants to become a background character, and I can tell you, that neither do I. But the Shepherds are strong, so if you're weak, then you probably won't survive.

That is why I want to forge my own path. While the Shepherds do their own thing, I will become strong. I will fight my own battles, and I will effectively become the main character of my own story. Of course, I will have to meet the Shepherds, which is why I've decided to go north. By meeting them, I will grow and gain a connection to the "main" story line.

But after I go north... where should I go? I'm currently in Ylisse... North is Ferox... Then, how 'bout going to Plegia afterwards? I can grow more there, as well as gain experience. I mean, if you're summoned into a game, then you have to check out the sights, right? Fire Emblem isn't just about fighting. Well, it is...

But, _my_ Fire Emblem, is about what _I_ want to do. I will grow stronger. I will see beautiful sights. I will become the main character of my own story.

Robin? He might be more important than me, as the fate of the world practically lies within his hands, but that is that and this is this. I know the world isn't going to end, so I might as well enjoy myself.

Smiling, I set myself a goal.

To have my own story in the Fire Emblem game, right along side the main story of Robin. Intertwining at moments, and at others, far, far away. I don't want to limit myself. I want to experience it all.

To start it... I have to say goodbye to this child, and to this village.

Though it will be sad, it is something that must be done. However, I, as the main character, will not be deterred, and will keep on forging his own path to the limits of this world, will I accomplish, or fall, it does not matter. But what does, is my own personal enjoyment.

Besides, why would you play a game that you do not enjoy?

* * *

 _A path that has strayed. A light that dims. A knight flawed, a perfect pawn created._

 _The dark being smirks, and the light being worries._

 _The one that does not, and that one that will._

 _The false, mixed with the truth; a new fate, a second Awakening._

 _The light has cracked, and the darkness spews forth._

 _And, thus, A New Life has began._

* * *

 **I rushed a bit towards the end, and to the end, cause I wanted to hurry up and get it done. I will not be able to post for some time, but I will still write the next chapter when the moment allows. My deepest apologies.**

 **Also, please excuse me for taking so long to finish this. I meant to be done with it by the time midterms ended, but I ended up taking to almost Christmas to do so.**

 **Please follow, if you so enjoyed and would like to see more, please favorite, if you loved this, and please leave a review, telling me of your thoughts.**

 **Though, of course, you do not have to do so, I just merely remind you to do so, if you wish to.**

 **So, with that, please have a great Christmas!**


	5. Going North

**Hello guys and gals. Now, I know what I said, that I would be away for some time and would be unable to post a chapter, but one review caused me to speedily type this shite up. As in, I confined myself in my room on Christmas (except at some parts of the day, cause it's Christmas) and started to type this chapter, and then I was lazy and stopped writing. I also got into playing Path of Radiance, since I want to play Radiant Dawn, and I've found something important... Titania is OP. Also, Ilyana. That skirt. Really short. I swear, she wears black underwear. N-not like I pay EXTRA close attention when she is fighting or anything... ... ... I also started playing New Mystery of the Emblem. So, uh, on to the reviews?**

 **Kasuyorai -** _Well, I can straight up say that I will not be completely following the game script, as I want to do my own thing. I also do realize that I made Malina a tad bit Cliche, but, like you said, Fire Emblem Awakening is full of them (Except Nowi and I am definitely not prejudice to her about this as she is the best waifu in Awakening), so I thought I should make a bit cliche character at the start, and then work my way up. I'm pretty sure Charles is super cliche... As for the big group, I do plan on Charles getting a group, though it will be small, and will be changing (with deaths and them leaving, or whatever. I haven't decided everything yet.) Well, thank you for the review, and I hope to read more from you again. Probably._

 **Nightshade 0-1 -** _Absolutely fucking yes. I will sign you the hell up. XD_

 **KuudereMan(Guest) -** _I have typos cause I don't check over my work. Wait, I shouldn't say that... Oh well, I'm too lazy to change it :P And, I am not that good at making jokes, so yo-you shouldn't worry about the horrible jokes... And if you or someone else wants to beta, then just PM me, though I don't promise anything..._

 **Ilat-2 -** _THOUGH I ALREADY REPLIED TO YOU EARLIER, LET ME ADD SOMETHING ELSE. SINCE WE ARE ON THE TOPIC OF YELLING, ALLOW ME TO YELL SOME MORE! GO ON! YOU YELL TOO! IT IS ACTUALLY PRETTY FUN! LET'S ALL YELL! IT IS AMAZING!_

 **Well, with that, there are no more reviews!**

* * *

 **Because I forgot to put this last chapter, here it is!**

 **Level:** 4 - He went up two levels since the last time I put this - One from the training before the bandit attack, and the other from beating the leader. **  
EXP:** 10 **  
Stats: Rating:** 54 **  
**Str – 11  
Mag – 1 + 1 = 2  
Skill – 8 + 2 = 10  
Spd - 8  
Lck - 10 + 1 = 11  
Def – 7  
Res - 4 + 1 = 5  
 **Sword Proficiency:** D

 **As he didn't gain a new skill, I decided to not include them. And now, let's start this!**

 **(I am only adding this at the end of the chapter when Charles gains a level. If you want to see something similar from other OCs or the other characters in Fire Emblem, such as Robin, Chrom, etc., then just ask and I might put it in when I feel like it.)**

* * *

 **Chapter 5** **\- Going North, going South**

I was currently standing at the village entrance, the same one where we had that fateful battle a few days ago. It was the same day that I awoke, that I decided to leave. Malina was against me leaving so soon, but I had persuaded her to let me go.

 _"But I don't want you to leave!" The small girl said, rubbing her face on my chest as she hugged me._

 _"I have to go." I said, with as much of a soothing voice that I could muster._

 _"No!" I was her only friend. I was the one who ended the prejudice against her. I basically saved her life, like she saved mine when she threw that rock at the bandit leader, before he impaled me with the pointy part of his sword._

 _"Listen." I said, bringing myself down so that we were eye-to-eye. She stared intently into my eyes, tears glistening in her iris and threatening to spill. "I must go. I must walk my own path. However, I will make a promise with you. In around two years, I will return. Though it might only be briefly, I will return. Okay? Until that day comes, please wait for me. Can you do that?"_

 _She sniffed loudly, and a few tears fell from her eyes. Her mouth was quivering, but I could tell her mind was made up._

 _"O-okay! I'll promise, so you better come back!" She held onto me tighter, but with a gently smile, I, once again, promised her._

 _"Then, I'll swear it. I, Charles, traveler extraordinaire, hereby promises to return to this village, in around two years time from now. If I do not come, then pronounce me dead and buried." With a light smile, and a joking tone, I ended the promise by patting her head. "Okay?"_

 _"Mhm! B-but don't die..." She was worried, but with my knowledge, and skill, and my ability to run away, I knew that I wouldn't die._

 _"Don't worry; I won't die." And, with one last smile and pat, Juliet brought Malina back home._

 _Afterwards, I was approached by the village blacksmith. He gave me an iron sword, to replace the bronze one which had broken at the end. I thanked him, and he left._

 _And, at the end, I was left alone at the village entrance, a small brown pack slung across my right shoulder, carrying supplies, and a new black sheathe at my left side, containing my dark gray iron sword. I also now wore black boots, which was a nearly perfect fit. Walking also feels much better now._

I looked up at the clear sky. It was time to go. Shrugging my shoulders to adjust the weight of the pack, I took my first step outside of the village.

"Bye-bye!" I heard, from behind me. Turning my head around, I saw the children waving goodbye, with their parents, relatives, and neighbors - so basically everyone from the village - watching me go, waving goodbye, wearing smiles, and, genuinely, being happy.

I smiled in return, and flung my arm up into the air.

"Bye!" I shouted in return!

I turned away from them, and walked away, even as a silent tear slid down my face.

But, why, oh why, could this have happened?

It was only a few days later, as I advanced north. I was nearing the border! I mean, I was getting pretty cold, and Regna Ferox is in the tundra or something, right? So the colder I get, the closer I am! Or something like that.

But why must bad things happen to me?

And why in the form of bandits? Is this some kind of Fire Emblem welcoming? Must all main characters start out fighting bandits? But... this is a bit of an odd situation, if I may say so myself. I guess I'll start at the beginning.

* * *

Hello, my name is Charles. Just a simple traveler. Well, a traveler who has some knowledge in swordplay, who is a brilliant tactician of zero renown, and Outrealmer who was summoned into this world for some random and unknown purpose.

When I found myself in this world, I was in a forest. It was soon coated in flame. Zombies, known as Risen, came out of nowhere, and wanted to have some fun eating my brains. So I ran. I managed to beat some, and jumped off a cliff to save my life. Of course, a normal guy would've hesitated and had his brains slashed apart by the broadside of an axe, but I, who watched a certain anime that starts with Re and ends in Zero, knew all about how-to cliff. This, surprisingly enough, led to my survival. I had honestly thought I would've died, but instead, I ended up with a broken leg.

I met up with this cute little girl, who turned out to be a bit of a Manakete, called Malina. I ended the hate against her by using words inspired by anime and that were totally not stolen, and I then trained the villagers of her village to fight a group of bandits who came to destroy them and take their gold!

And so, I soon left, traveling north to Regna Ferox, to meet the Shepherds, and become stronger! Of course, I'm not going to join them; I'm not suicidal! I plan on having the amazingly awesome Lon'qu train me with the sword! Of course, that is only if he hasn't joined the Shepherds and is willing to train someone of my talent. As in, horrid talent.

I mean, the first time I swung a real sword, it hit the ground! I did not start off that good. The only reason I managed to stay alive, in my opinion, is by ripping off anime moves, being intelligent, and knowing how to dodge (Kind of). Luck also played a major factor in it, as well as plot armor, but, then again, this is real life, and I'd rather not test the chances of me getting skewered on the next lance I see, and whether or not someone saves me at the last moment.

But, even after rescuing a village from certain destruction, I ended up in a bad state. Yes, the state I was currently in! I was... currently enjoying my time with some nice girls in a hot spring.

If you couldn't sense my sarcasm, then I shall commence a face palming.

In reality, I ran into some bandits, and surrendered. I mean, I didn't want to die... It was a good ten or so against one; what'd you want me to do? The surprising part, was that they didn't immediately kill me. So perhaps they were going to sell me into some sort of slavery? There have been slaves in Fire Emblem, or used to be... something like that. To be honest, I have a pretty bad memory for this kind of stuff.

So, they took my totally rad iron sword and sheathe, but they let me keep my armor. It was certainly reasonable, as I liked my black-totally-not-emo armor.

Huh? What happened after that? Well, I was tied up, of course! Arms bound, legs bound, my pack taken from me, my food and water ate and drank, and, pretty much thereafter, I was dragged around by the bandits.

After trying to strike up a deal with them, they found out about my talent of the mind, as in, my awesome tactician prowess. I gave them advice, and helped them develop a few strategies about attacking those on the road, or bridges, and villages, in return for my sword, sheathe, some food and water, and my meager amount of gold back, which I was given with the pack from the village elder.

Instead, they forced me, at axe-point, to become the strategist of their group.

I, of course, accepted their offer.

When you're at axe-point, you tend to accept anything asked of you. And I mean _anything._ Good thing that was the only thing axed of me...

But, come to think of it, for some reason, I didn't feel that much fear. It was as if something was removing the fear from my mind. I felt the fear, but it quickly extinguished itself. It was like a small fire trying to build up into a bigger fire, but more firefighters arrived at the scene and start, well, extinguishing the fire.

It has been exactly one week since I left that village.

It took three days to be captured, in which I was traveling northward for Regna Ferox. One day to become the strategist, in which I was bound and tried to strike up a deal. And three days to gain the complete trust of them, in which I helped them hit travelers on the road, and the such, until they all trusted me to the point where I wasn't guarded at all times.

I was given my pack back (though there was nothing left inside) and my sword and sheathe back. I was told that I was now the second-in-command of the bandit group - the Red Reapers - and the official strategist.

Today is technically my first day of me living the bandit life, as I was guarded the last couple of days and was not trusted for the rabble.

I must say... it isn't exactly the best life, but it sure beats being dead, if ya know what I mean!

Including me, there were a total of twelve bandits. One was, of course, the bandit chief, the leader, Garuda. He was a tall man with rippling muscles who usually doesn't wear a shirt of any kind, and large baggy pants. He always carries an axe with him, is bald, and has a bushy beard. Scars decorated his shiny head, arms, and chest. He was a muscle-head. As in, his brain cells were actually muscles in disguise.

After him, was his third-in-command, a cute young girl at the ripe age of fifteen. She wore a dark cloak with red highlights running up and down the sleeves, and around the collar, with the front of the cloak unzipped. Underneath, was a black and white Gothic Lolita dress and black boots. In all honestly, I was surprised at seeing this kind of outfit, as I didn't remember any Fire Emblem character wearing an outfit similar to this one, at least, from the games that I played. She has long, flowing onyx black hair that fell down to the middle of her back, with the bangs brushed away from her eyes, and two white ribbons tying the hair into twintails that lie over her shoulders. She also has silver eyes to contrast with her hair and pale skin.

The reason why she was third-in-command, was due to her being a Dark Mage. She used to be the second-in-command, but she wasn't the best strategist. It wasn't because she was stupid; far from it. She was more intelligent than me, and that's simply incredible! I have an extremely high IQ, mind you...

W-well, enough with the exaggeration. I was still pretty smart, but she was more so. She was just... terrible at conversation and socialization, and anything to do with other people. To put it in simpler terms, she was the very definition of anti-social.

Though she was cute, so it made it up.

Oh, I should say this now: She has a height of four feet eleven inches.

So I, being five feet five inches, have to constantly look down at her when we converse... which isn't that much to start with, as she rarely talks to me. It was basically just a simple exchange of "hello" and "good night" between us. But her voice was cute, so it was okay.

Her name is Vedis, by the way.

The rest of the bandits, a total of nine, were basically just random normal guys who resorted to being a bandit to survive.

Six wielded axes, one had a sword, and the last two had bows.

And I, as the strategist, was put in charge of using them to plunder - attacking travelers, villages, caravans, and the like. Honestly, I didn't like it, but, if I had to give one good thing that came about from joining the Red Reapers, besides dying, getting free food and water, and being able to sleep safely at night, is the fact that I can use them to train my sword skills. At first, they didn't want to help me train, but once I gained their trust, and friendship, when I asked for help training, at least three would volunteer to help me.

It was pretty great. With my skill in the sword increasing, my "level" also increased. Probably.

But now, it was the morning of the eighth day since I left my village.

The two archers reported to Garuda, and me, that they had found a merchant caravan with few guards, which consisted of a single horse-drawn carriage. They told me that there was seven people who carried weapons - four with lances, and two with swords, while the seventh rode on top a horse and had both lance and sword equipped.

From the information that they told me, I concluded that they had: Four soldiers, two mercenaries/myrmidons and the leader being a cavalier. Along with them, they reported that the merchant was a fat man. At that, I felt relief. If the merchant was an Anna...

Well, let's ignore that.

Four soldiers, two sword wielders, a cavalier, and a fat merchant. This is doable, especially with our numbers. It will be twelve versus eight, or rather, seven. They have four/five less than us, but remember: axes trumps lances, so beating the four soldiers will be easier. But, with them having two with swords, either mercenaries, or myrmidons, then it will be a bit more difficult, but we should still be able to take them out.

The problem is, the cavalier's range. Riding a horse, he was certainly dangerous, as he could rush past the bandits and hit me or Vedis, who is a glass-cannon mage. I'd rather get through this battle without losing anyone, and if someone _had_ to die, then it would be one of the other bandits. I mean, they _are_ less useful compared to me, who wishes to live through this no matter what, and Vedis, who is a freaking dark mage.

The two archers led us to where they found the small merchant caravan, and then we followed the tracks it left behind. Once we were caught up with it, I confirmed the classes of who we were fighting.

Four soldiers, two mercenaries, and one cavalier. I couldn't see the fat merchant from where I was, but he was probably in the horse-drawn carriage that the units were protecting. They walked with the two mercenaries at the back, two soldiers on either side of the carriage, and the single cavalier at the front of the carriage.

I took a moment to think about the situation, and how we could fight them, but I instead decided to gather more information. I ordered the archers to check the route the carriage was on, and to see what was up ahead. The archers quickly left with a quick "yes".

The reason why we were using the archers for recon, is because they were the best at being silent. I would've went on my own, to check it out for myself, but, though I was trusted, and second-in-command, I still wasn't trusted enough to go out so far on my own, as I could run away without them realizing. They want me here, and they want me to become "sinful" so that I wouldn't be able to leave them. The reasoning, is that if I committed enough "sins" I wouldn't be able to go back and live a normal life. But jokes on them, my morals are already messed up from watching anime kill characters in horrific ways, and playing games where your "objective" is to kill. What Grand Theft Auto has taught me, is that death is but a phase. One lives. One dies. Two phases. And so, I didn't suffer much from killing... though it was still mush worse to kill in reality. I was sick with my first kill, but less at my second, and from there, it will simply go down. Though, joining this bandit group, my plans and ideas have resulted in the deaths of others, so I was more used to dead guys now... Also when I was at the village, tons of people died, so...

I guess death doesn't affect me that much anymore? I expected to still be queasy at this point, but I strangely did not even feel a little nausea, once I think about it... Even when I saw the corpses of the bandit victims, I didn't feel anything. Was it because they were already dead? I mean, they kind of did smell, ever so slightly, but I didn't mind it...

It was weird. Something in me must've changed. But, with a shake of my head, I ignored such thoughts. They wouldn't help me in what was happening right now, so I didn't need them.

Nearly an hour later, they came back and reported that there was a bridge up ahead. Of course, we were moving with the carriage, but it was still around an hour, even as we came closer to the so-called bridge.

A bridge... Cupping my chin, I thought about it. How could we use the bridge to our advantage? I confirmed with the archers that the carriage was heading towards the bridge, and that there was no other path for it to take. They told me that there was a smaller path, but it wasn't wide enough for the carriage to go through. With this, I smiled. I was able to start formulating a plan with the bridge in the center.

I had them take us to where the bridge was located, so I could get a better picture of my little idea.

It was a wooden bridge, large enough for about four or five adult men to walk across shoulder-to-shoulder. Though the bridge seemed to be old, and there were cracks in some of the wooden planks, it was still sturdy enough to have a carriage cross. The bridge was a suspension bridge, I think was the name for it, using ropes as supports, as in, at the sides of the bridge. They were tied into the ground using small blocks of wood that was around the height of the average man, or a little bit taller. A total of four of them.

As I was thinking, one of the bandits with an axe approached me.

"Strategis', the carriage is approachin'." He told me. I looked back down the path. I couldn't see the carriage, but it must be coming. Then, I'll just have to use what I have already.

I gathered everyone and told them what I had in mind.

First, we'll cut a few ropes from the bridge, so that it will be weakened. We'll have it so that it can be easily taken down, especially at the middle. We'll have the two archers hide on the sides in the bush or in the tress, hidden before the bridge. When the cavalier gets on the bridge, they'll loose an arrow each at the bridge, and cutting two of the ropes, which should, and hopefully, take down the bridge. Without enough supports, the bridge should go down with the cavalier, thanks to the horse and the man's weight. The carriage will obviously stop before going right off the cliff, and the remaining soldiers will be confused. We'll basically be ripping the bridge apart, causing it the break apart and fall down, taking whoever on it to the death.

" _What happened?_ " Will probably be their question, especially the mercenaries in the back, who couldn't see anything. The archers will then switch their gazes to the mercenaries, and start attacking along with the other bandits. The ones using axes will come in from the sides, and hit the soldiers, who wield lances, and take them out. Soldiers are basically ordinary people, and they aren't the best unit out there, so it should be relatively easy for them to be taken out, with three versus two on each side. Garuda, the bandit chief, or leader, and the single myrmidon we have, including the archers, will face the mercenaries. With that, me and Vedis will hit the front of the carriage, and take out the merchant, and secure the carriage for ourselves. Once the battle is over, we'll inspect the "goods" and then use the carriage to carry it all back to our base, which was just a small fort in the middle of the forest. It was hardly a defensible location, but it was still a good place.

Either way, much of this plan required surprise. If they see the attack coming, we might be forced into a larger battle with some casualties.

The others agreed to the plan, and they set off onto the bridge to cut some of the supports. Before the carriage came into view, everyone hid in the bushes at either side of the bridge. The archers climbed up onto the trees and hid themselves.

At last, the cavalier came into view, and right behind him, was the carriage. I saw the soldiers walking next to the carriage next, but I didn't see the mercenaries, as they were in the back. They were slowly approaching the bridge. The cavalier was calmly looking left and right, inspecting his surroundings. However, he didn't notice the trap. And so, they continued marching along the rough and beaten path. And, finally, the cavalier's horse took its first step onto the bridge. I could just barely hear the bridge strain against the weight of the horse and man. If we just let them go on, without doing anything, the bridge will probably give in when the carriage gets on it, and it will fall down. However, we couldn't let that happen, and so...

Two arrows were released, and they flew through the air. The one fired to the left of the bridge, cut the rope halfway, and ended up hitting the horse's flank. The other arrow, coming from the other direction, perfectly hit one of the bridge's supports, and flew past the cavalier, narrowly missing the horse's legs.

With the lost of two supports, and a horse that went crazy from being hit, the ropes holding up the bridge started to rip, due to the weight. And then, before the cavalier could get off the bridge, the bridge snapped and he was sent falling down into the dark abyss below. Where there was a small river, which he definitely did not hit. And was perfectly visible up above. So it wasn't really dark, nor was it an abyss... In fact, it was just a matter of speech! I should really stop thinking to myself...

The carriage managed to stop right at the edge, nearly falling down with the cavalier. I heard shouting from the carriage, and saw that the soldiers were confused as to what had just happened.

With the carriage stopped, it signaled for the attack to begin. The bandits rushed forward and out of their cover and attacked from the sides. However, I gave them but a glance as I broke out in a sprint for the front of the carriage. I saw Vedis, who was positioned on the other side of the path, run forward as well, though she was a second or two after me. The soldiers shouted as they spotted the bandits, but they could barely offer much of a resistance as the bandits closed the distance between them. At the back, I could vaguely hear shouting. The bandit chief, Garuda, probably started his own attack now. He was devastating with his axe...

I came to a stop in the front of the carriage first. I climbed up, and looked inside. I could plainly see the fat merchant, who was shaking in fright, but, there was somebody else in there. Vedis arrived barely a moment later and climbed on up after me. She saw the merchant first, and then stared at the other occupant of the carriage.

My eyes widened in realization, and I shouted. "Get down!" I threw myself at Vedis, and covered her.

Flames exploded against my back from the mage's attack. The tome, Fire, was used.

So there was another unit on the battlefield! After the attack ended, I slid my iron sword free, and lunged for the mage, who couldn't react in time. My back might've been burning and stung from the attack, and I might've felt a lot of pain, but I still had enough sense to take out the enemy in front of me!

But then a question passed through my head as my blade stabbed into the mage's shoulder.

" _Why was it so easy to attack the mage?_ "

Was it because I was attacked first? Though, even if I was attacked first, I think I would hesitate to kill... But, why did I automatically attack, with no thought that I could kill him? It was... weird. I didn't understand why I was able to try to kill someone, as if it was perfectly normal. It was easier to understand why being around dead people didn't affect me that much anymore, but actually actively killing someone with my own blade? I haven't killed someone straight up before. Sure, I led to a lot of people dying, but I never, _personally_ , slayed them. They either died at another's hand, or bled out with me doing nothing, and I didn't really count the later as someone I killed. I slid the sword free from his shoulder, and then slashed. The blade cut through his neck, and he fell back, coughing up blood, with a fountain of blood shooting out of his neck. A few seconds later, he stopped breathing.

 **I felt absolutely nothing from killing him.**

I shook my head. I'll think about it all later, but right now, I have to finish this mission. I stared at the merchant with dead eyes, and he shivered in fear. His lips were quivering, his limbs were quivering, his entire body was quivering. He was scared out of his wits end. I did not attack, I did not approach him, but the simple act of staring at him with blood covering my form scared him so much, piss was released and the liquid dripped down his legs, staining his legs, and was, frankly, disgusting.

Vedis got up and pulled out her Nosferatu tome. She flicked it open, and muttered a few lines. Three dark circles appeared around her horizontally comprised of glyphs that I couldn't read. Three additional circles appeared in front of her, in different sizes, as her hand pointed towards her target. When she finished the spell, with a cute sounding "Nosferatu" at the end, a dark light appeared right above the man's head, and a dark shadow appeared around that light. Then, the man exploded at his chest with darkness, as the dark light disappeared. Red blood exploded out of him, but before it hit the ground, some of it froze in midair. The droplets then raced towards Vedis, and a green light appeared around her as she "absorbed" the blood.

I could tell from her expression that she was invigorated, but she hardly showed a change. Nosferatu, in game, was a tome that can only be used by dark mages and their promotions, as well as anyone with the unique skill "Shadowgift". Nosferatu then had some bad accuracy, but when it hit, it did quite a bit of damage, not much, but not too little. The best part about the tome, was that it heals the user for half of the damage dealt to their enemy with the tome. So, if the merchant had twenty HP and Vedis did twenty, she would gain ten HP back. However, if she did extra damage to the twenty, she would not gain more than ten, however.

So that was what Magic looks like. I wonder if I could use Magic, even though I probably wasn't the correct class? Well, I'll ask her about it later, if I remember.

* * *

It was now the night of the eighth day. It was time.

Of course, I wasn't just going to sit back idly and be a bandit forever. Eventually, I will have to fight the Shepherds, and I would, unfortunately, die. Obviously, as they fight much more than me, and much tougher battles, they would gain more experience in battle. Which means, by the time I get used to the sword, they would've mastered it. That is why I wanted to do what I was going to do.

I was going to sneak away into the night. However, I realize that it would be a bad idea to just simply pack up and go. I needed a plan, something to keep them busy as I make myself scarce. Something... but what?

It was the fifth day that I heard a certain conversation that I wasn't supposed to hear.

It was between three of the axe wielding bandits and the myrmidon. They were planning a revolt, an uprising. They wanted to take down Garuda, and have Lidous, the Myrmidon, become the next leader. Of course, I happened to overhear what he was going to do.

One, he was going to kill me, as he didn't much like me. Even now, I could tell he didn't like me. And two, he was going to do a specific dirty act to Vedis. I call it rape, but apparently he calls it just desserts. So apparently, the one protecting Vedis is Garuda, but some of the others don't like her. Yes, they see her as useful since she can use Magic, but past that?

Bandits lead whatever kind of lives they wish. If they see a pretty girl, their thoughts immediately go dirty. While I much preferred not dying, I did not agree on the concept of rape, so I had to include Vedis into the plan. The only problem? She actually _liked_ being there. No, I did not mean she liked being a bandit, killing and stealing, and hearing stories about rape at the campfire, but I mean she saw them as _family_ , which is why she puts up with it. She practically killed her emotions years ago, and that is just sad!

And so, I wanted to save her from her fate. Which was actually happening today.

Which was why I planned on escaping today.

Which was why I was approaching Vedis to talk to her about something. That something being what was about to happen this night. I didn't know _when_ it would happen. I just knew it would. After much searching, I found Vedis sitting on a log, staring up at the night sky. At her side, was her Nosferatu tome and her spare one. She was holding something within her hands, but I ignored that as I called out to her.

"Hey." I greeted with a hand raised. She turned her head slightly and stared at me. She returned the greeting with a small nod, before she looked away and back up at the sky. Just like always, it was difficult to talk to her. What do I say next? Anime and games have prepared you for this moment, Charles! So don't back off now! I sat down on the log to her left, which got her attention again. She quickly hid what she held in her cloak pocket. Ignoring her suspicious behavior, I adopted a certain look. If I had to describe it, it would be a handsome look with sparkles appearing around my face. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" With a smile on my face showing off my pearly white teeth, and a cool glint in my eyes, I waited for her response.

However, within my mind, I was going crazy. ' _Why in the seven Hells did you say that, ya retard!?_ ' ' _I don't know! I panicked!_ ' ' _You damn idiot! Restart, restart!_ '

I cleared my throat, and took down the handsome look. I was never a big fan of it anyway.

"Uh, what I meant to say, is that, uh..." She tilted her head in confusion, but a small change in her expression caused me to pause. She _smiled_. While it wasn't big, in fact it was incredibly small, it was just the ends of her mouth lifting up, and it could be confused for a frown, or a poker face if one didn't look too hard at it, but as I was a master at watching her expressions - not because I really liked her face - I was able to pick out the slight difference in it. Which is why I paused.

"Yes." She responded, a few seconds later, looking away from me, and back up at the night sky. The moon lazily traveled higher into the sky. "It is." Her voice was small, so cute. I felt my heart strings tug at her words, and it was as if my hearing multiplies so that I could hear her even a little bit better.

No, no, no! I was not in love! I don't believe in love at first sight anyway! And besides, I'm eighteen! She's fifteen! But, then again, I think Ricken is about fifteen when we meet him, so...

No! What am I thinking about? I have something I have to tell her! Ah! Should I just tell it to her bluntly? Or go about it with a series of thought provoking words and phrases?

Oh screw that; I can't properly think up lines such as those!

"Vedis." I said her name. My face might have turned a bit red as she looked back at me, but I was probably just imagining it. "I overheard a conversation a few days ago... It was between Lidous and three others. They were... planning to fight Garuda... tonight." At my words, she reacted by... doing nothing. She just stared at me. She was probably just processing the information, but to not even get a reaction...

Then, suddenly as if her still image was just an illusion, she jumped up from the log she sat on with her tome in hand. She spun around, and ran off, back towards where we set up our camp for the night. We were still in the midst of transporting the carriage back to our base, so we had built a camp for the night.

I tried to stop her, but something fell out her pocket and my concentration was lost. My eyes followed the shiny object as it hit the ground. When I looked back up, Vedis was just a speck in the distance. More so, since it was too dark for me to see that much.

I hurriedly got up and searched the area where the object fell. My search proved fruitful, and I picked up a small white medallion. There was a short silver chain hanging out from a hook in it. The hook, which probably had the end connected to the medallion, was broken, which must be why she wasn't wearing it, as it would be easy for it to fall off. I opened the medallion, and stared at the picture that was in it. It depicted a younger version of Vedis, as seen by her hair and eyes, but her expression was much more joyful. She looked to be five years old. Right next to her on the right, was a man sharing her hair, but different eyes. The woman on the other side of Vedis shared her eyes, but not her hair.

It was obvious at who they were. Her parents. But then, why was she with these bandits? Perhaps her parents died and she was taken in by them? Or was it something else? Who knows. The only way to know, would be to ask Vedis, but I wasn't so inconsiderate to ask her something like that. After stashing the medallion into my pants pocket, I took off after her. It was obvious as to where she was going; to Garuda. To warn him of the attack, or if it already started while we were away, then to help him. Of course, I'd rather not go back there... but I already made up my mind to protect her.

I grumbled inside my heart, at why this had to happen.

I had started my journey going north, but now I was going south... Shaking my head, I focused on what I had to do.

To save Vedis. To kill Lidous and anyone involved in this. I sighed. It all started from me wanting to get away. Then it evolved into wanting to take Vedis with me. And now I was going to help Vedis help Garuda not die. This was just not going my way...

When I finally arrived at where we camped at, I found the place ablaze. Though it didn't surprise me, as I could see a lot of light, specifically red colored in the distance from the flames. I looked left and right, and saw them over at the left, towards a particularly large tent set up for Garuda.

Though they were bandits, it wasn't like they just slept on the grass when they camped out.

I ran over as fast as I could, to find Garuda slashing someone's head off. It was one of the generic bandits with an axe. It seemed like... everyone was against Garuda, except me, and, of course, Vedis. She was behind him, with her Nosferatu tome opened. Either she arrived just before the attack happened, arrived and told him, which then resulted in the attack, or she got there as the fight was happening. She wasn't injured yet, so that was good. Garuda, on the other hand, suffered from more injuries. There were cuts on his arms, and on his chest. An arrow was lodged in his left shoulder. There were three already dead, including one archer. Lidous was still alive, and keeping his distance from the big man. His sword was in his hand, and there was a small cut on his cheek.

Well, I guess here goes nothing!

Drawing my own blade, I ran forward and towards the group of men and one girl. Though I wasn't noticed right away, I was quickly noticed as I stabbed the last archer in the back, before he could shoot an arrow at Garuda. The sound it caused, made eyes turn towards me. I gave an awkward laugh at that, as I suddenly became the enemy of the remaining five who were part of the uprising. With the odds against them, they were becoming nervous. Lidous must've been infuriated judging by his expression. And then, he started to smile.

"Lisen up 'ere, you bastards!" He shouted up at the heavens. All pairs of eyes turned towards him. "That guy there?" He pointed his sword at me, causing everyone to look at me. "He was the on' who overheard us! Without 'im, Garuda would be dead!" The pawns - I mean - other bandits nodded at his words. "An' so... Get 'im!" With his words, the four remaining bandits wielding axes rushed at me. Lidous, however, didn't move, and instead, turned towards Garuda, who started to chase after the bandits who ran towards me.

I, of course, didn't notice the action, as I was suddenly being attacked by four different guys! I was seriously in trouble! But the one who did notice, was none other than Vedis. She saw him move towards Garuda, and preparing to attack, and so, she reacted quickly. She activated her tome, and recited a few words, and at the end, she finished the spell and attacked.

"Nosferatu!" A dark light appeared above Lidous, surrounded by a dark shadow. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared, but Lidous noticed. He jumped to his side to dodge, but was too late. His left shoulder exploded from darkness, and blood shot out. Just like before, most of it hit the grass, turning it red, but the remaining droplets were absorbed by Vedis. As Vedis protected Garuda from Lidous, I fought the four bandits, with Garuda attacking them from behind, which kind of turned it into a pincer attack.

I was strangely not too worried. I felt a bit scared at the situation, but my mind worked perfectly well. In fact, it seemed to be better because of the situation. However, now was not the time to think about that, and so, I focused on defending and attacking.

I sidestepped the first axe, and then lightly jumped back from the follow-up attack. The second bandit came into range and swung his own axe down at me diagonally. I jumped down to the side with a small roll, and, from the ground with one knee on it, I jumped forward and lunged my sword at the bandit. He tried to get out of the way, but his axe was stuck in the ground! Lucky me!

Though I was confused at why I called myself lucky because he couldn't dodge, I still stabbed him in the chest, before violently slashing the sword up and through his neck. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned to face my next victim - I mean - opponent. There was seriously something screwy with my mind. Did it break, or something? Though I had a frown on, I was ready to fight.

The next bandit stepped forward and slashed his axe horizontally at me. I stepped back, and it just barely missed my armor. He then pulled it back and tried to get me with a step before and another horizontal slash. However, I simply took a larger step back. He tried again, and again, and again. And then- He stepped into a hole I knew was there, and he tripped forward. As he fell, I slashed my sword down at cut off his right hand, which held his axe. The axe fell down and hit the ground, just as he hit the ground screaming. I pulled the sword up, and aimed it down. I slowly moved it downward, until the tip was pressed against his head, next to his right ear. Then, with a sadistic smirk which was not my own, I stabbed the blade into his head. He cried out in pain, but it quickly stopped as his brain was pierced.

With that, three out of the four were dead. When I looked back up, I discovered that Garuda was next to me, though he was looking away. The fourth bandit was on the ground, dead, his head missing. Garuda is sure living up to the name the bandits sometimes call him - Garuda the Decapitator.

I looked pat him and at Vedis battling Lidous. It was then, that I realized why I was here in the first place. I ran forward, but an arm stopped me.

"Wh-" I started to ask, as I looked up to the giant next to me. His expression made me stop. He looked angry. Not at me, or the bandits that tried to kill him, nor was he angry at Vedis, or Lidous, who started this. He was mad at _himself_. I quickly concluded that he was mad because he let this happen.

"Charles." Unlike the other bandits, he didn't speak broken English, or whatever we spoke, as I didn't know if this world speaks a different language, and I just learned it when I appeared here, and am unconsciously saying it as if I grew up learning it.

Then again, it could be just English.

Vedis also speaks like this, though she rarely speaks. And is cuter.

"In a moment, I am going to go and kill Lidous. However, I wanted to ask you: why are you here?" I was surprised at his words. "When I was attacked, and saw that you were nowhere, including Vedis, I thought you had run away, and Vedis went with you. When I saw Vedis appear from the forest, I was certainly surprised."

Vedis dodged a thrust from Lidous and shot another Nosferatu at him, but he dodged it with a roll. He quickly counter attacked with a slash, which cut off some of Vedis's hair.

"And then when you appeared, I was even more surprised. So, can you please tell me, why are you here?"

The fight continued on, but neither one was injured. Though Lidous was getting closer to hitting Vedis, she was also getting closer to hitting him.

"At first, I wanted to run away." I replied. Garuda didn't even look at me. "But, then I wanted Vedis to leave with me. And finally... when I saw Vedis run back here, when I told her that you were going to be attacked, I felt like... I had to help too. I don't know why."

Garuda stayed silent for a few seconds before he replied. "When you fight, you become bloodthirsty. It is as if you were possessed. Keep this in mind when you fight." He gave me the advice, and then left, running towards the fight.

Just as he started to run forward, Vedis was flung to the ground, as she was punched in the face was a surprise attack. Garuda yelled back to me, loud enough to get Lidous's attention.

"I'll leave Vedis to you! I want you to take her away, now go!" He yelled for me to leave, to take Vedis with me. I was surprised at his words, but if you think about it, you'll arrive at the conclusion he made: The Red Reapers were over. Nearly all of its members were dead, so what was the point? Either he was planning on dying here with Lidous, or he was going to leave and form a new bandit group. However, he wanted the two of us to leave. I certainly understood that point, however, I didn't know _why_ he came to this conclusion like he did. Certainly, from a logical standpoint, his group was over. But after he kills Lidous, he still had two others with him. He could definitely build up a new group. However, he chose to let the two others go. Why was that? Why wouldn't he want us with him?

Then again, it was also surprising he came to that conclusion as fast as he did: He definitely did not have many brain cells as most of them were actually muscles. Like I said earlier, he was a muscle-head.

Lidous stopped going after Vedis, and instead faced Garuda, who raised his huge steel axe. He slammed it downward at Lidous, but he slammed his sword into the side of the axe, knocking it to his left, as he stepped to the right. However, the axe, did not crash against the ground like he was expecting, and get stuck. Instead, Garuda flipped it over, ninety degrees, so that the blade was facing Lidous, who was surprised at his.

"Surprise." Garuda muttered with dark eyes and a large smile showing off his crooked teeth. He then slashed the axe at Lidous, who was unable to react in time due to his surprise. The blade cut through his legs, and he fell to the ground with a shout. He yelled even as the blood pumped out of his legs. Garuda stood up. Standing as tall as a mountain, Garuda threw down iron judgement at Lidous. "For starting this revolt... I will kill you." Garuda smiled, and raised his axe. Lidous screamed and tried to crawl away, but a Nosferatu from Vedis stopped him, as it basically blew up his right arm. Garuda sucked in some breath, and exhaled through his nose. "Goodbye... friend." He slammed his axe down to the ground, and Lidous's head was removed from his body. That was when I reached Vedis. Yes, the fight didn't started and ended before I even got to Vedis. I had started my run just before Garuda attacked, but he ended the fight right before I got to Vedis. It was impressive.

Vedis approached Garuda, who was covered in the blood of those he killed. Kind of like me, though he was more injured, and more covered in it. Before Vedis could get to him, he pointed his axe at her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Go." He said with a raspy voice. "Go and be free. Go with Charles." He then turned around, and placed the long pole of the axe on the back of his shoulders. The blades of his axe was dangerously close to his head, but he seemed used to it as he walked away.

"B-but..." Vedis said, as she reached out a hand towards Garuda. Her mouth was slightly open, but she did not take a single step towards Garuda. I walked towards her, and raised a hand, as if to put it on her shoulder. But, before contact, I stopped. After a few seconds of thinking, I dropped the hand and reached into my pocket instead. I took out the medallion and dangled it in front of her face. She blinked at seeing it.

"Here." I said, looking away. "You dropped this earlier, so I... came to give it back." She reached a hand into her cloak pocket, but she didn't find the medallion she know she put in there. Realizing that I was correct and that that medallion was hers, she grabbed it slowly. She knew it was hers, but she didn't believe she dropped it. But after finding that there was nothing in her cloak pockets, she realized that she had, in fact, dropped it somewhere. Her pale fingers slightly touched my fingers, and she accepted the medallion from me. She held it close to her chest.

"Y-you don't have to come with me, or anything." I said, looking even more away. I even turned away from her! "If you want to, then that's fine!" I then started to walk away. I approached where I had dropped my pack before I entered the fight, and picked it up. I placed it around my shoulder and, looking up at the, I looked for the direction that was north.

Okay, if the sun rises in the east, and sets in the west, then the moon rises in the east, and sets in the west, so north is-

"What... direction are you... looking for?" A small and cute voice, almost like a mouse, spoke from right next to me.

Though I do not wish to say this, I was frightened from the voice right next to me. I mean, it came out of nowhere! I didn't even notice that Vedis had followed me! I looked over my left shoulder, a bit too slowly. My heart was thumping against my chest, not completely because of our close proximity, but because I was frightened as if something horrifying just happened!

It was like when you enter a haunted mansion, and then a scream comes out of nowhere right next to you.

I mean, her voice was cute, and was hard to hear, unless she was close, which we were, but I did not expect it in the slightest!

After shaking loose these thoughts of being frightened so easily, and after calming my heart, I responded to her question, though with a slight crack in my voice.

"N-north." I said. Immediately she pointed northward. She didn't say anything else, but just watch me with her finger pointing towards the north. I looked up. I found where East was, which was the opposite direction the moon was going, and then I traced it down to her finger which was... actually pointing north. I was surprised that she was able to figure out where north was so quickly, but... I was still more surprised when her voice came out of nowhere.

"Then, le-let's go." I offered her a gentle smile, and she returned it with a slight nod of her head, and she followed after me. As in, she waited for me to lead the way. She she was somehow a compass, I was kind of hoping for her to show me the way, but whatever... As long as I go this direction, I'll eventually arrive at Regna Ferox... somewhere.

Well, no one said that it was easy. I guess I'll see if we can find a village to buy winter clothes along the way. Do the sell winter clothes? I'm hoping for a jacket of some sort. I do not think armor is that great for the cold.

"Um..." I wanted to start a conversation, but I didn't really know how, not with this awkward situation...

As if reading my thoughts, Vedis, uncharacteristically, started the conversation with a question. "Where are we traveling to?"

I happily answered her. "To Regna Ferox."

"Were you going there before?" Before, as in, before I was captured. Though her questions were short and to the point, with her voice being hard to hear, but really cute, I continued to happily respond to her.

"Yep! Do you know how long it will take before we get there?" I asked her.

"One day if we hurry from now, to night, two if we do not."

"Great!"

And then there was silence.

* * *

 _A little bit about Garuda's and Lidous's past_

 _The two actually share roughly the same age, with Garuda only being three years older at forty-five. The two met at an orphanage when they were children. They became friends, due to being similar in age. Though Garuda was bigger and liked to fight, Lidous was smaller and disliked fighting; he much preferred to read books. The two, though they contradicted what the other was like, were the best of friends. When they were older, the orphanage was attacked and burned down by bandits. The militia of the town they were in tried to protect the orphanage, but for those who didn't run away, only death awaited them. That was the first time the two friends touched a weapon. Garuda, being the bigger and stronger boy, picked up an axe that was once used by one of the dead bandits. Lidous, picked up a sword of one of the militia, but he was too scared to really use it. Garuda, on the other hand, was psyched._

 _He attacked the bandits when they were setting flames to the inside of the orphanage, and killed some of them. Against all odds, he managed to kill adults as a twelve year old. However, he was soon knocked down and defeated. He had blood all over his body, hiding wounds that would surely bring scars to him, which they did. Before he was killed, with a sword through the neck, Lidous, getting over his fear in order to protect his friend, stabbed the bandit towering over Garuda from behind._

 _After that, the two fought the bandits and nearly died. However, as the building started to fall down, the bandits made their exit. The two were left inside to die. But they did not die. They were rescued the next day and adopted into a family of a neighboring village. The two trained everyday, in case bandits attacked again. Later on in their life, they went to war. They fought on Plegia's side, as that was where they were born and raised. However, their country lost the war and they nearly lost their life several times in the war. After the war ended, they did nothing for several years. They were simply... trying to live as thieves. But, Garuda was sick of their way of life. He understood, more than anybody, that he and Lidous had potential and talent. He talked to Lidous about what they should do in their life with the skills that have._

 _So, instead of living on the streets, the two became mercenaries. However, work was scarce. The two, taking a few friends they made in the mercenary group they were in, became bandits._

 _Though they hated being bandits, they had to do what they had to do in order to survive._

 _A couple of years ago, the two found a small child, who was nine years old. Though the other members of the Red Reapers wanted to just kill the child and be done with it, Garuda and Lidous accepted her into their group when she told them what happened to her._

 _Her orphanage was attacked and it burned down. She was the only survivor. She clutched a dark tome to her chest, one that she was given before the orphanage went down from the flames, as well as a medallion, which she had when she was five. Her name was Vedis._

 _The girl aged and became much cuter. She became what can be said to be the mascot of their group. However, a few years ago, before Charles joined, Garuda and Lidous fought. Because of this, Lidous was no longer the second-in-command, and Vedis took over this role. Lidous was infuriated. Their fight was one typical of friends, but the two took it too far. The argument resulted in a fight to the death. Luckily enough, neither died, but they were injured due to the battle. After that, Lidous stopped practicing, and his skills began to rust over time, which was why he wasn't as strong as before._

 _When Charles joined, it tipped Lidous over the edge. He talked to the other bandits, and planned an uprising to kill Garuda. What convinced the others to join him? Whoever survives, can get Vedis to themselves for an entire day. Since there was a total of nine of them, including Lidous, then Vedis would be constantly raped for nine days by them. Of course, that was only if they all lived. Lidous was, of course, conflicted with this snap decision he made with no planning. He liked Lidous, but he hated Charles, and he wanted Garuda dead for what he did to him. So, he pushed his own guilt down, and carried out the plan. It ended in failure. He picked the night, because Vedis would always go out into the woods to watch the night sky. So Lidous planned to have Garuda killed and the evidence hidden before she gets back. Then she would get her tome taken away and forced down. They would use the carriage, which was obtained earlier that same day, to get back to the fort._

 _The plan was to originally begin at their base, but Lidous made a snap decision to do it then. He had a feeling that if he waited until they got back to the base, then it was over for him. He had a feeling that something was going to go wrong._

 _When Vedis randomly appeared from the forest, he knew that his plan had derailed. When Charles appeared killing the last archer, he knew what had gone wrong._

 _In desperation, he had the remaining bandits attack Charles to kill him, and then he went to kill Vedis. He hated it, but he had no choice. He knew that Garuda would never forgive himself if Vedis died, so he knew that by killing her, he would thus destroy Garuda. He would then die, but he was ready for that. What he wasn't ready for, was for Vedis to dodge his attacks, and that made in mad and careless. He didn't notice Garuda coming towards him, until he had yelled. And then, he was forced to confront his friend._

 _He knew he would not live. The reason, was because ever since they first picked up a weapon, and started to train, Garuda never stopped training everyday, while Lidous stopped a few years ago. Garuda destroyed Lidous._

 _Lidous tried to run away, but he had no legs, so it only resulted in him crawling away. But the fight was already over. He was decapitated and died at the hands of his best friend, Garuda._

 _After that battle, Garuda told Vedis to go with Charles, while he himself left on a journey._

 _However, that would not be the last seen of Garuda._

* * *

 **Level:** 5 **  
EXP:** 25 - The mage he killed gave him 30 exp, but he didn't get a bonus from Quick Learner, as Vedis was next to him. The three guys he killed, each gave him 20 exp, and an additional 10. The last one, gave him a bit less, as he leveled up, so he ended up have 25/100 to the next level. Yeah, something like that. **  
Stats: Rating:** 56 **  
**Str – 11 + 1 = 12  
Mag – 2  
Skill – 10  
Spd - 8 + 1 = 9  
Lck - 11  
Def – 7  
Res - 5  
 **Sword Proficiency:** D

* * *

 **Ah, and there we have it folks! I gave a bit of a background on the three musketeers, as in, GaRUda, Lidous, and Vedis. Also, he joined a bandit group, however short it was! Didn't expect that, huh? Well, neither did I! I had planned for him to just arrive at Regna Ferox, but I thought it would be boring to just cut straight to it, so I wanted to add something to it in the middle, and what came... came. Was it good, or was it bad? Who knows! I... certainly think it could use a bit more work.**

 **So, he now gains a new companion, by the lovely name of Vedis! She certainly seems to be the cute one as Charles is experiencing the feelings of love~  
**

 **Charles:** I do not!

 **Do not deny it, my lovely creation!**

 **Charles:** Fuck you!

 **Well, putting the idiot on mute, let's talk about him behind his back! Now, I'm sure he can hear me, but we can't hear him! Or, rather, read... It's weird and confusing. Anyway, something is happening to Charles, I wonder what it is? Will it be revealed next chapter? Probably not. I'm planning on sharing the love on what it is... probably... around Plegia. Yeah, Plegia seems about right. A lot of fucked up things happen in Plegia, so it's perfect! :D**

 **So, with that said, please drop the almighty follow down upon me, if you so enjoyed, and leave a superior favorite, if you so wish to, and also leave a graceful review depicting my badass and amazing (lol) self down below.**

 **Thank you, thank you. I don't work out.**


	6. Intermission

**Hey guys. First off, I'd like to apologize for not updating in some time. I've been busy with some things. However, I'm half-way through with the next chapter, so it might be coming out this week or next, so please don't be mad with me :(**

 **So, we have some new FE games coming out! Though Heroes is already out, and I have been enjoying it! It's been fun, but also frustrating on multiple occasions. So, what units do I have? Well, my main four are: Nowi 4S, Cherche 4S, Lilina 5S, and Eliwood 4S. On my first summoning, I had gotten Nowi, and she's been with me ever since. There are two other units I really want to get: Loli Tiki, who, I keep NOT getting. Like, I see everyone having one, and I'm like, "WHYYYY!?" Why can't I have Loli Tiki? Please pray for me guys. And I also want Myrrh, who is not in the game yet. Guess who I voted for? Myrrh. I only wish she was added into the game...**

 **Well, the gameplay is okay. Not the best. It's not very challenging too. Except for when you make accidents and BS decides to fuck you up...**

 **Right, there was one last thing I wanted to talk about. I'm not good at analyzing shit, so please bear with me, so that you can correct everything I do, because it will most likely be wrong.**

* * *

 **Is Askr, or the Order of Heroes, really the good guys in all this? I mean, what has Veronica done? Sure, she attacked them. But what is her goal? Well, from when we first see her in the opening, she looks a lot like Nyx. Kind of. Anyway, when she reaches forward, and then disappears, what is her expression? One of somber, in my opinion. Which was weird. Why would she look sad and gloomy? Later on, she says that she is LONELY. Big word there.**

 **So, now adding the fact that she is lonely, and how she states something like - WANT TO PLAY A GAME, like this is a Saw game, and how she always says lines like "** _If you've come to play_ **" or similar such lines, means that she is different than what Alfonse, Sharena, and Anna wants us to believe. They tell you how she attacked them without warning. They set her up as the bad guy. However, every story has a different view point. In one view, she is evil. However, when Xander appears, we find out another one. Xander, after being beaten, says that he will be staying with her, because he can see that she is LONELY. This confuses Alfonse and co. Such as, why would he do that, when he isn't being controlled anymore? Why wouldn't he return to his home? The answer, is because he UNDERSTANDS Veronica. She is lonely, and desires ATTENTION, FRIENDS, and the like. Plus her picture always looks sad to me, expecially when she isn't smiling.**

 **Anyway, after which, we hardly see Veronica again, until the end when we face off against her for the final time. Until you do hard/lunatic difficulties, at least. After you beat her, I had Cherche left with only 1hp, or was it Lilina? Either way, I was at the precipice of defeat, however, I set it up, so that she could only defeat Cherche or Lilina. She chose one, killed her, then died. And so, I won. Moving on, after the battle ends, let me give you some lines she says.**

 **"** _Why do I keep losing? It's really not fair! Your kingdom has_ **EVERYTHING** _._ **"**

 **Now, what does she provide as examples for "** _everything_ **"? Heroes. Summoner(you), a pretty realm, happiness, healthy, and wealthy.**

 **"** _I have nothing-nothing that matters!_ **"**

 **After which, we see a conversation between our "** _heroes_ **" and how they doubt that that would be the last time they will face Veronica in battle.**

 **So, after everything that I've said so far, what do you think is the deal with Veronica? We are told by the masked dude that she wants to destroy the gates, but is that really all? I mean, look at those two lines I provided for her. She is jealous. She is lonely. She envies Askr.**

 **Well, there are more things I can say, but I think you get my point, right?**

 **What is Veronica's goal? It is pretty vague, but let me list you a few things that could be correct: Destruction of the gates, attention, and friends. That is, at least, what I believe. The first one is the most sketchy. However, the last two, are more definitive. Just... have you looked at her portrait? Just... sadness, is what I see.**

 **Now, is Askr, or the Order of Heroes, the bad guys? I doubt that they're evil, however, after seeing Veronica exhibit loneliness, sadness, and stating how jealous and how much she envies them, It's just infuriating that they don't offer her a hand saying a cool line, like: "We'll be your friends, so stop attacking us!" Like, I'm sure she'd agree to something like that :/**

 **Also, I am quite stupid, and will most likely miss everything obvious, and only say things to make Loli Veronica look good.**

 **Now, if I'm asked if I would rather be on the side of Askr (Order of Heroes), or Embla (Veronica), then I would most definitely pick Veronica.**

 **But hey, that's just a theory - A FE Theory, thanks for reading!**

* * *

 **And please, share your views! I want to know what you think about this stupid "theory", what kind of units you have, and whether or not you actually play the damn game! By-the-by, my friend ID is 3400640110, name of KuroM. Weird name, huh? It is actually a Korean term or phrase meaning: "** _If so, then..._ **" or "** _Of course! No doubt!_ **"**

 **So, with that said and done, I'll be seeing you guys on the actual next chapter! Thanks for reading :D**


	7. Arena Of The Ferox

**Hello everyone, and welcome to this! Let's just go ahead and do the reviews, alright? Alright.**

 **Some Guy In An Ambulance -** _Thank you. I, who has read a lot of FE fics of Awakening, wanted to do something different. And trust me... when we get to what I have in mind... Wait, what DO I have in mind? Uh, please ignore me! I'm just a baka!_

 **Kasuyorai -** _Yes, readability IS a word. Readability is the ease with which a reader can understand a written text. To be perfectly honest, if Charles was truly me, he'd forget the promise two days later. Yes, I like to think of the fighting scenes I make as my forte. Though, that is definitely up for debate..._

 **Ilat-2 -** _Perhaps. Maybe. Possibly. There is a possibility._

 **And now the reviews from the intermission I had...**

 **Ilat-2 -** _Well, alright. I, personally, will be getting it because I've always wanted to play Gaiden. I say this as I hop out the window, in order to escape from the cops._

 **BluFalcon1 -** _True, but Marth is alright. I mean... Every time I face Marth in the arena, he is always five stars. Like, how does this happen? Freakin' people who use actual money in a mobile game are trash... how do I get shit draws, and you get, like, four five stars... five times in a row my ass... Sorry. Was having flashbacks to my past trauma in the Arena when battling BS. Still don't have Loli Tiki..._

 **So, with that out of the way, let us just go and start this chapter that I've been so late to finish! Don't be mad at me! :(**

 **P.S. This took longer than I thought to finish, simply because I was only able to work on it a few hours a day, since I had to go and help one of my Uncles, and... I also kind of went to sleep much earlier, so... Don't be mad? And it was my first time editing the entire chapter, so... Don't be maaaaaaaaaaaad?**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 - Arena of the Ferox, Training of the Ferox**

The two of us walked on in silence for the most part of a few days. We had found a village, and using most of the gold I had left, I bought us winter clothes, aka jackets! Though it ended up being just for me, because apparently Vedis doesn't mind the cold, so that saved us some money(gold). So, over my clothes and underneath my armor, I now wore a white jacket with a hood and cuffs ringed with black fur. And yes, it was a bit uncomfortable with the armor over the jacket. I also switched the white cotton shirt for a black cotton buttoned up shirt.

To be honest, the jacket kind of reminds me of that one jacket Accelerator wore, though it was a bit different in the design and the materials. So, in the end, It was as if a part of Accelerator was traveling with me... and as much as I love the badass Accelerator, It was still uncomfortable wearing the jacket underneath armor and over a shirt. It was too tight for comfort.

But, ignoring that train of thought, I continued to put left in front of right and right in front of left. I rubbed my gloved hands against one another, trying to warm them up, and breathed white over the hands. It was still pretty cold, even with the jacket and gloves. I glanced back at Vedis, who walked behind me and to the right. She didn't look like she was being affected by the cold...

W-well, we'll eventually reach the wall, and we'll be let in, because two people can't possibly be bandits, right? I hope we don't get killed... Actually, I have no idea where on the wall we'll end up at. I mean, there has to be multiple entrances, right? It's a big ass wall. It would be extremely inconvenient if we can only enter from that one area that Chrom and co. enter from, right? So I was hoping that we'd find one of those hopefully many entrances. The good news, out of all this, besides being alone with a cute girl, is the fact that we were on a road, so there has to be a gate or something in the wall up ahead! There has to be! Why else would you put a road leading towards a wall here? The only conclusion I can draw from this, is that there would be a gate up ahead. No gate, means no road, right?

Exhaling, and watching the white breath exit my mouth, I strained my eyes against the snow fall. I thought I saw a silhouette of a wall... Perhaps, were we there? Truly? That's amazing! And it only took two days! Though I was happy at finding the wall, I then had a strange thought, as if a being much greater than my own, was telling me something. It was probably just one of my straw thoughts, however.

' _I wonder what happened to my family and friends when I disappeared and ended up here?_ '

The thought was truly one that I had never asked myself, and it was quite weird that I would ask it now. I probably never asked it due to the fact that I didn't want to die, having been summoned into a burning forest with Risen all around me, and then having to fight bandits to save a village, and then joining a gang of bandits... But still, I wonder how they would react to my disappearance? I know my brother wouldn't care one way or the other, but my grandmother would definitely be worried, while my mother would be in hysterics and try to take away my brother because apparently disappearing inside a game means that my grandmother can't take care of my brother?

To be honest, I have no idea what'd she do. I just know, that if I was there, I'd probably want to punch her. I have a complicated relationship with my family. Don't ask, imaginary voice inside my head.

Moving on.

My friends... well, they'll definitely be saddened by the news. I mean, we were friends! Kind of. We insulted each other a lot, because that was what friends do, right? But still, it would be nice to know what happened after my plunge into this game. Not that I'd really care that much now. I mean, if I can't go back there, then what would be the point of caring about it?

Nodding at my wise words, as if I was a sage, I continued walking forward, even as the temperature continued to go down, and I grew colder and colder.

* * *

 _A few minutes after Charles disappeared into Fire Emblem Awakening._

 _"Charles!" A feminine voice sounded. It was his Grandmother. She was calling him to come and move some stuff. As the flood had happened some months ago, they had lots of work to do! Or, rather, that's what Charles's uncles kept saying. After a minute of waiting, she tried again. "Charles!" This time, it was louder._

'He's probably playing a game and can't hear me, or something!' _She reasoned. And so, she started on her way to his new room. Opening the nonexistent door, she stepped into the room. The light was on, as she saw from the hallway, but no one was in there. Just one of his gaming devices that was on his bed. The small one. What was it called again? A 3-something-or-other. Sighing, she moved over to the small device. She closed it without seeing what was on it._

 _"Charles!" She called out for the third time. This time, she moved into the computer room - his old room - which, once again, had no door. The door wasn't on, but that didn't mean that much. Charles could've just turned the light off. She entered the room and flicked on the light. Nobody was in the room. Frowning, she started to wonder at where Charles went. She checked the back bathroom, the living room, the backyard, and then the front, where he would go to feed the neighborhood cats._

 _She didn't find him there. Frowning again, she decided to see if he was with his brother. Though, long ago, the two would never be in the same room, after psychological therapy for his brother, the two were able to be in the other's presence without fighting. They were like friends at times. Though, there was also the times when they wouldn't even see the other in an entire day, as Charles's brother had a strange sleeping schedule. Where Charles was told to go to sleep at a specific time, either 9 or 10, sometimes 11, this did not apply to his brother. He could wake up at whatever time, go to sleep at whatever time, and frankly, do whatever he wants. Even as he does no work, and just stays on his computer the entire day._

 _Charles secretly wonders if it was because of his psychological problems that he is given free reign over his life, while he is told what to do._

 _But Charles was not there. After checking the room, she found that Damien, Charles's brother, was asleep. At around 5:00 PM. Shaking her head slightly, though not doing anything about it, she left the room. Damien had stapled a curtain over his door, so that you couldn't see inside the room, without moving it to the side. To enter or leave, you had to move the curtain to the side, which was just a hassle._

 _'_ Did he ask his uncle to take him over to his friend's house? No, he would've asked me first to get permission. _'_ _She thought to herself, but she couldn't come up with anything else. And then, a thought hit her like a sledgehammer to a door._

'Did he run away?'

 _With those words, she ran back into Charles's room to check his possessions. She quickly found his shoes, where he usually leaves them, then she checked his clothes, and they were all there. Shirts, pants, underwear, socks... All there. His backpack for school was there. His bed was a bit of a mess, but that was because he didn't feel the need to make it up; since he would have to go back to sleep later, it would be less work to have to pull the covers back so he could get in bed. His game was there, his phone, his tablet... It was weird. He was just... not here. Did he leave without any shoes, and just the clothes on his back?_

 _No, he would've definitely took his tablet, phone, game, and shoes. Since it was a bit cold outside, he would probably have grabbed his jacket. Though she knew that Charles probably wouldn't see it as cold, it was still an option he could've done._

 _So, where was he? In the end, she couldn't come up with the answer. So she did the only thing that she felt was right._

 _She called the police._

 _They arrived and she explained the situation to them. She gave them a description of Charles, and showed them a picture of him on her phone. They checked the house, just in case. Nothing was found._

 _A few days later, and some of his friends came over, for one reason or another. There was three of them. She roughly remembered the black one, and she knew the Irish guy with the beard, but she forgot his name, but she did not know the tall one._

 _They introduced themselves after she asked for their names._

 _"Kealton." The black guy answered._

 _"Daniel." The one with a beard, though it was just on the upper lip and chin, answered._

 _"Hunter." The tall one answered._

 _With that, she asked why they were here, though she already vaguely knew why._

 _"We wanted to see if Charles was really missing..."_

 _"(And to check his stuff...)" Another muttered, but she didn't hear that part. It was nothing personal - they weren't going to take anything of course, but they just wanted to see if there was any clues of his disappearance among his stuff... And they really wanted to play some of the games he had._

 _They were a bit selfish, but they were indeed sad over his disappearance._

 _She led the trio inside and to his room. She left them alone afterwards._

 _"Okay." Daniel said, sitting down on the bed. "Let's check his 3DS. I know he has a lot of games on there." He picked up the 3DS that was next to him on the bed. "Don't know why it was on the bed, but let's see, 'kay?"_

 _"Alright." Kealton said, sitting down to Daniel's left._

 _"Gotcha." Hunter, sitting to his right. "Though I'm more of a fan of the Play Station."_

 _"Well, he used to have one, but because of the flood, it got wet, so..." Daniel said vaguely as he prepared to open the game. He flipped open the 3DS, but he was confused as to what was on it. The other two leaned in to see, but they were also confused._

 _"What is this?" Daniel muttered. He didn't know what game_ this _was. On the bottom screen was a black circle with unknown letters on them. It made up a couple of triangles, and was, frankly, pretty cool. The top screen had a ring, with the zodiacs on it. He knew that it was them, from the 69 which stood for cancer._

 _It was like a universal give-away for it being the zodiacs._

 _"So... what game is this?" Hunter asked, to break the ice._

 _"Don't know." Kealton replied, scratching the back of his head._

 _"It looks cool, but not really that interesting..." Daniel leaned forward. He felt... something. It was like he was being pulled forward. His mind spun around, like a cogwheel. He moved away from the 3DS, but he then found himself coming closer. He repeated this several more times._

 _"Guys, I found something out." Daniel said, closing the 3DS._

 _"What is it?" Hunter said._

 _"Charles was sucked into a game. Probably."_

 _"What? How is that even possible?"_

 _"Just think about it." Daniel said, pointing a finger up, as if he was a genius. "He left with nothing. He just disappeared. His games are here. His tablet is here. And his phone is here. And all his other junk." He quickly added at the end._

 _"So? How does that mean he was dragged into a game or something?" Kealton asked._

 _"Well, he was into writing and reading Fanfiction about being dragged into different worlds, either by reincarnation, or other methods."_

 _"Fanfiction? Seriously?" Kealton deadpanned._

 _"Well, I do it too, just... a lot worse than him."_

 _"Well, you don't have good grammar, Daniel." Hunter laughed._

 _"Shut up!" Daniel snapped, but he only laughed harder._

 _"So your saying that he is inside whatever game this is?" Kealton asked._

 _"Well, yes. However, we don't know which game this is, right?"_

 _"Yeah..."_

 _"So all we have to do, is to turn it off and back on, and the 3DS will open up to the last game he played, right?" Hunter said, sounding very confident._

 _"Exactly!" Daniel said, as he opened the 3DS once more. He quickly turned it off and then back on. When it came back on, the game it opened up to, was..._

 _"Fire Emblem?" Hunter asked._

 _"Well, he really liked Fire Emblem... to the point where he forced me play it." Kealton said with a hand on his chin._

 _"Yeah, yeah. He definitely did love his Fire Emblem." Daniel confirmed._

 _Little did they know, the real game he played last, was Mario._

 _"So what do we do?" Kealton asked._

 _"We do nothing. I'm not going to a world where I can die at any time." Daniel said, and pretty much tossed the 3DS behind him without looking. Without closing it. Without turning it off. "H-hey guys... Am I being pulled back? I feel like I'm getting further and further away from the mirror..." In front of him, on Charles's dresser, was a large mirror. It showed the reflection of the three of them. Daniel stared at the mirror, and felt as if he was moving away from it._

 _"Uhmm... You kind of are." Kealton confirmed with a nod. Then pointed to the game he threw behind him. "It landed perfectly behind you, with the screens facing towards you."_

 _"Shit!" Daniel jumped off the bed, turned around, reached for the 3DS, and turned it off. "Okay, if you want to go to the Fire Emblem world, say Aye!"_

 _Nobody said aye._

 _"Well, how about we play his other games?"_

 _"Aye."_

 _"Aye."_

 _"Yeah, I figured."_

 _And so, the three friends played through almost all of Charles's games, and they didn't touch a single Fire Emblem one. After finishing, they left and went home. They told nobody about their discovery, and merely wished Charles luck in the world he so dearly loved._

 _"He's probably dead." Daniel said over Skype._

 _"Yeah, that's true." Kealton nodded, but nobody could see that._

 _"If he isn't dead, I'd be genuinely surprised." Hunter agreed with the two._

 _And just like that, the three friends went on to believing that Charles was dead. Of course, they felt sad for him... but they were too busy playing Charles's games, which they took with them, to really care that much about it._

 _At least he died in a world he truly loved._

* * *

"Achoo!" I sneezed. I sniffed hard, and rubbed my nose with my jacket sleeve.

"Are you sick?" Vedis asked tentatively.

"Nah. Probably some cute girls talking about me." I replied, licking my lips. They were a little chapped, so it was long overdue.

It was probably around thirty minutes later, that the two of us arrived at a tall gate. Looking left and right, the wall extended until you couldn't see it through the snow. This was one of the gates to enter Regna Ferox. I did not think it was the same one Chrom and Robin entered through, but it was certainly magnificent! The wall was tall, and excellently built!

Then again, I don't know much about building walls, so I could only compliment its appearance and the hard work of whoever built it, so the compliment didn't mean that much.

Did I mention how cold it was? Because it was very. Cold.

Looking up, to the top of the wall, I saw the silhouette of guards staring down at us. They would be easier to see, if it wasn't snowing so much. After some time of awkward silence, I started to fidget in place. So, are they going to say something, or do I have to speak first? I don't really know... But I guess I'll try. I mean, what is the worse that could happen? They throw javelins at me?

Okay, bad joke.

"U-um... I-I would like to enter Regna Ferox pl-please!" It certainly was nerve wracking to yell up at the guards over the sound of the blowing snow. I was nervous and my heart was thumping within my rib cage, plus It was cold, so I ended up stuttering as my teeth chattered against each other. Vedis, like always, didn't say anything. She just stared up at the guards. It would really help me if she were to talk, but whatever.

I could vaguely hear them saying something, but it wasn't loud enough for me to hear. And then, a voice was shouted down from the top.

"Where do you 'travelers' hail from?" The voice was of a man. He must've been the commander of this gate or something. The way he said travelers, meant that they had fought some bandits here. So I should be extremely careful about this situation.

"Ylisse." I shouted back. I mean, I started in Ylisse, and Vedis was here too, so she _had_ to be Ylissean, right? Then, I thought I heard something from Vedis, but the roaring snow blocked out her small voice. I was going to lean in and to ask her to repeat herself, but decided not to as that might look suspicious.

The guards talked amongst themselves about us for a few minutes. After some waiting, the guard from earlier yelled back so I could hear him.

"Very well. We will let you two in; but if you start any trouble, then you will have to deal with me, got it?" I could tell by his position of guarding the border that he was strong, but his voice made it sound like he was even stronger. It had such an intimidating ring to it... The first thought of his appearance was that of a bear. I wouldn't even be surprised if Regna Ferox hired talking bears to guard their borders. It would make perfect sense, really. Probably.

"Right, right..." I shouted back, though it was too low for them to hear as I wasn't trying very hard to be heard.

After a few minutes of waiting, and plenty of shivering, I heard a low rumbling. Then, the gate started to rise up. Through the use of chains, I think, the gate was raised for the two of us to go through. When the gate opened high enough for us to enter, I saw two soldiers, holding lances, standing on either side, with a knight in heavy armor between them. The two of us walked towards them. Though I was a bit nervous at the encounter.

The knight spoke up first with a gruff tone. "The commanding officer of this post has told us to find out why you came here. So tell me; is there a specific reason why you decided to enter Regna Ferox?" The man said this in a monotone, but I could feel the power in his words. He looked down at me, with a bald head. He kept his hands held behind him, and his feet spread apart. If he didn't wear armor, he would surely have rippling muscles that could twist off my head at a moments notice.

I eventually opened my mouth to answer him.

"W-we are simple travelers, Sir Knight." I responded with a crack. "My dream is to walk the lands through all countries and continents! So how could I just pass up Regna Ferox?" I dramatized the words by waving my arms as I talked, making it look really exaggerated. The knight stared at me for a heartbeat and a half, before looking at Vedis with a mean glare.

"And you? Do you share the same sentiments as... him?"

Vedis did not respond verbally. She only gave him a nod, which came after a few seconds of silence.

"I see." The knight nodded once and closed his eyes. When his eyes flickered opened, he glared at me. "Names!"

"Y-yes!" I responded immediately. Damn that was loud! He didn't have to yell it! "My name is Charles. This here is-"

"I'll have the girl say her own name, thank you very much." His eyes switched from me and to Vedis. He waited for her to speak her own name.

"...Vedis." She muttered, though loud enough for him to hear.

"Oh?" He exhaled. After a moment of silence, he addressed both of us. "And what is a Ylissean and a Plegian doing here?"

A Plegian? Vedis hails from Plegia? How did I not know? Then again, she's never really talked about herself all that much.

Well, I guess it kind of makes sense. I mean, she is a Dark Mage, and they generally come from Plegia... but that is not what I should be asking right now! Why did she keep it a secret from me? Well, I guess because it wasn't really that important...

"Traveling." Vedis responded without a care in the world.

"I see. Traveling." He looked from me to her. "Well either you are both dirty liars... or I need to clean my ears." He shook his head. "Listen here lad. Though you can lie, there is always a way to see past your lies, even if you are wearing a poker face. Do you know what it is?"

"Uh, no?" I answered hesitatingly.

"The eyes. You can hide your words behind a smile, but your eyes are like an open veil into your true thoughts. Your mouth and expressions can say one thing, but your eyes will always reveal your true intentions. But when I look into your eyes..." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I can see that you're telling the truth, but not exactly. Giving a smidgen of the truth, mixed with lies is a good way to hide the truth, but keep in mind... that by doing so could lead to your death."

I gulped. The truth was that I was traveling, but the reason I gave for it is not exactly the reason why we're here. I basically told him that we came here "just because". However, the real reason would be to become stronger, and to meet the Shepherds, while also seeing this "story" advance. But this is turning out to be a slightly dangerous situation... What can I say? Oh yeah! There was something like a tournament to decide the leading Khan, right? Then let's just use that as an excuse!

"W-well, I guess we're also here for that 'grand fighting tournament,' right, Vedis?" I asked her with a plea to bail me out of this situation!

"..." She did not respond! She didn't even nod her head! Was she zoning out or something?

"Well, I can't really confirm this with the girl, with her being silent and all, but if you're here for that, then you came just in time!" Now he was suddenly excited, as he started to talk about the tournament and how great it was. "Ahaha!" He laughed heartily. "If you don't know the exact route to get there, how 'bout I send you two with a small escort so you don't get lost, eh?" His smile is really creeping me out... And besides, how much does he loves to fight and to see fighting to completely change his opinions about us? From being suspicious, to something like friends?

"So exactly when will the tournament be taking place?"

He cast some suspicious eyes onto me, but they quickly disappeared. "Oh? So you know of the tournament, but not the exact date?" he laughed.

"Well, I can't really help that." I scratched the back of my head, absentmindedly. "I mean, when you travel so much, you tend to forget what day it is. All I know, is that the grand fighting tournament is starting sometime soon."

"Ahaha! Well, then lad, I'll tell ya! It will be starting in a little after a week, so you have plenty of time to make it to Arena Ferox!" He then turned to the soldier to his right. "Let the commander know! These two have passed inspection, and to send a guard of... three with them to Arena Ferox!"

"Yes sir!" The guard saluted, and ran off.

"Then, you two... I'll have you wait here for now, so best make yourself comfortable!" With another laugh, the knight in heavy armor departed.

After that, it was awkwardly silent. I wanted to ask Vedis about her Plegian roots, but I didn't really know how to, or if it was necessary. Would I be crossing some kind of line, or something? I could only panic in my mind, until a voice spoke out. Looking up, I saw a myrmidon, an archer, and a soldier approaching us.

The myrmidon had black hair and beady black eyes, with leather armor. An iron sword hung at his waist. The archer had her bow slung across her back, long blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. And lastly, the soldier wore light blue armor over his body, except for his legs and arms. Black hair spilled out from his helmet, and green eyes stared back at me.

"Please' ta meet ya." The myrmidon said with a friendly smile, offering me his hand. I smiled back, and accepted the handshake. After introductions, the five of us left the gates, and headed deeper into Feroxi territory.

I was told that it would take a day to travel to Arena Ferox, so I was relieved by its closeness... Or rather, the pace they're making us walk is a bit much! I'm nearly running to keep up after them!

On the other hand, Vedis somehow managed to "persuade" the myrmidon to carry her... I'd feel jealous if I wasn't overcome by fatigue from walking for hours. I need a break!

Alas, it would be for another three hours - when the sun was nearing the far off mountains - that we finally took a break.

* * *

After what felt like eternity of walking, or rather, jogging, we finally arrived at Arena Ferox. It was currently midday, and a soft wind was blowing the snow all over the place, making it look like a miniature snow storm. Did I mention how cold it was? I hope they have indoor heating... Oh, what am I talking about? It's a castle! They had that kind of stuff back in the days of the Romans! If they didn't have it in Fire Emblem, I don't think humans would settle up here in the cold wasteland of coldness!

"Achoo." I sneezed. I've been doing that a lot. There goes my streak of never getting sick...

"You 'kay?" The myrmidon - forgot his name - asked.

"Yeah. Just a bit... droopy." I answered him without looking, and instead, hugged myself tighter.

"Well, try ta get betta', 'kay? We'll be headin' on back to tha gate, so fare-thee-well!" The myrmidon, again, forgot his name, bid his farewells and left with the other two escorts.

I took a glance over to Vedis. She was hardly shivering! Is her coat Magically-enchanted to stay warm!? I'll have to ask her about this latter - in fact, I'm putting it at the top of the list of things to ask her!

Once the large doors opened, and a man wearing a butler attire, with white hair and eyes, appeared, I gave him a small, white envelope that was written by the commanding officer of the gate we passed through. The envelope was given to me by the myrmidon before we arrived here, and he told me to give it to whoever opens the door, so we could gain entrance into the castle.

But first, let me give you imaginary people within my head a rundown of what was around us. And no, I was not slowly going crazy. No matter how many times you think it, or say it, I am not going crazy! Ahem.

In front of us, was a pretty big castle. Gray. Ominous looking. It was also covered in snow. Ya got the image right? It's bloody perfect, right? I don't have to tell you about the gargoyle statues, or the gray clouds above, or even the multiple chimneys emitting dark-gray smoke, or even the fancy windows, and all that, right? Well, I'm sure you can imagine it if I tell you it was probably not exactly a generic castle as there was a giant freakin' dome coming out of the top of it. Probably in the middle of the castle, or something. That was probably where the "arena" is, and how this place gets its name. Now, to my left, right, and behind me, is a city. Arena Ferox is basically a city with an arena. Nothing too spectacular to note. The housing is the same as just about anywhere else. Stone. Brick. Some wood. Also snow.

I sure am being incredibly descriptive, aren't I?

I'm definitely not ignoring most of my surroundings so I can get the freak inside this - hopefully warm - castle. Nope. I'm doing my duty to keep you - imaginary people within my head - informed of the situation. In any case, it seems as if the butler finally finished reading the letter.

Staring into his white eyes, pleading for him to hurry up and let us inside, I waited for him to say "Come on in."

The butler looked between the two of us, and then slightly bowed down.

"My apologies for having the two of you wait out here in the cold for so long. Please, come inside." Well I was close, but the ending result is the same!

I hurried forward, and just as I was about to enter, an arm moved out in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.

"But before, I wish to challenge you to a fair duel."

Bloody Feroxi and their ridiculous need to challenge everyone to a fight! Your diplomacy is fighting? Well, you can just die! I want to be warm, and you dare stop me? If I get hypothermia and die, I'm taking you with me!

That being said, I think it was still lucky for the two of us to get this far without a single fight. So I should just accept this battle, and win fair and square, and-

"Not happening!" I ducked under his arm and ran inside, to where it was warm! Or, at least, tried to.

Just as I ducked to get underneath his arm, his leg came up and his knee smashed into my jaw. I fell back onto my arse with a cry. I looked up at the old man, with already completely white hair, and glared. I was also rubbing my behind. Just... putting that out there.

"You have two choices before you, young man. Battle me, or stay out. In the letter, it says that you 'agreed' to this, did you not?" I agreed to nothing, you old fart! ...Man, I always wanted to say that! Wait, I didn't actually say it... Should I dare speak it out loud? Alright!

"I ain't-"

"He will fight." Vedis agreed for me, quickly speaking over my words. "I'm cold, after all."

I have no words. Vedis, this entire time, you were cold? And really, why are you agreeing with this? It was not agreed upon! I call bull shit! The butler unsheathed the sword I did not notice he carried, and pointed it at me.

"C-can we at least do this inside?" I asked tentatively, with a hand raised.

"Very well. Now, pick up your sword and let us do battle!" He did not move. He stood where he was, as a fire raged within his eyes. Battle maniac?

"Inside?" I asked, once again. However, it was met with naught.

"Let us go!"

The old man, tired of waiting, took a step forward and slashed his blade down at me. I rolled out of the way, but I didn't hear a clang as it hit the stone. He managed to stop the blade at just the right moment before hitting the stone, then, spinning around on his left heel, he slashed down at me again. I rolled forward, and used my hands to flip myself up, and onto my feet. Though I slid a bit on the snow and ice, it was a pretty impressive display.

I probably would've broken my neck if I did this in my own world. I was not the most physically fit. However...

A fire raged in my eyes. If I want to get out of this cold weather, and become warm once more, I must fight! I slid my sword out of its sheathe, and faced this butler!

Vedis, off to the side, walked into the castle while muttering: "What a stupid fight."

* * *

And so, after the so declared "stupid fight" the two of us were led to our rooms. The fight was basically just a short spar, to see if we were strong enough to enter the castle and to stay there for some time, so I wasn't that injured; just a few scratches here and there, nothing of import. I was tired beyond belief, however, there was still something I had to do, so I couldn't just fall asleep in bed. After memorizing where my room was, I then started to walk through the castle randomly. Going from one corridor to another. Of course, doing so resulted in me getting lost.

I had also completely forgot where my room was.

My memory isn't really that good. Maybe I should keep a journal...

Ah, no, I'm not good at writing with a quill either. Well, I've only written once with them, and it was in the fifth grade, but I was horrible... It was a field trip, you see.

Wait, why am I telling you imaginary people in my head my life story? In fact, if you're all residing within my head, then where is my rent?

Moving on from that...

I'm bored. Being lost is being bored. If only something interesting happens, I'd be able to keep on.

Sighing, I walked on. I turned left. I turned right. Left. Left. Right.

Walking was starting to hurt. My feet were slowly starting to burn. Yawning, I turned a corner.

However, immediately after, I bumped into something, or rather, someone. I fell back, but I managed to keep my self from falling. However, the person I bumped into, had no such luck. Pink hair, trailing in the air, and a form I could easily recognize, hit the ground with a thump.

"Ow!" A shriek, though small, passed through the pink lips of the woman now on the ground. Her pink eyes were halfway closed, and her clothes were a bit... well, revealing. Sure, I liked Olivia's design in Awakening. Sure, she was a bit revealing, even though she was the shy type. But none of that could prevent the actual sight of her being like this. I'm sure every male out there would have a similar reaction that I am having right now. And if you don't know what I am talking about, then just ask an adult.

"U-uhmm..." I reached down towards her with my right hand. "Are you okay?" I asked Olivia, who finally looked up at me. And then, as if following some kind of script, she started to blush and stumble her way through her words.

"A-a, I-I mean... Uhm... I-I'm oka-okay..." However, she did not take my hand, and stood up by herself. Shrugging my shoulders, I let it be, and dropped my hand. Olivia pressed her arms against her chest, with her hands positioned just beside her chin. Her shoulders were trembling.

I knew she was a shy girl... But this... Well, I don't blame her; when a stranger suddenly pops out of nowhere, you can get a bit freaked out. Oh! Right! I should ask her. She'd probably know, right?

"Um, say... Ol... What's your name?"

"...O-Olivia..." She said quietly, with a bit of a squeak, like a mouse.

Smiling slightly, I asked her my question. "Do you know where some kind of training room would be, Olivia?" Using her name purposefully, I waited for her answer. Her shoulders jumped when I said her name, and to be honest, it was a bit funny to see that. Also cute.

"U-um... There are several... the nearest... is..." She pointed back towards where she just came from. "Is down there, to the left, then... right, through an... arched doorway. But it's already-" Though she tried to say something at the end - I can probably guess what it was - I raised my hand to silence her.

"Thanks for the information, Olivia! I'll see ya around maybe?" And with that, I lightly ran past her. However, after a couple of steps, I stopped and turned my head to the left. This was all done on purpose. "By the way, my name is Charles. Nice to meet you, Olivia." With that, I turned back and ran the way she told me to. I didn't hear a reply from her, but if she did say something, then it would've been too quiet for me to hear.

Even when we were speaking with only a couple of feet separating us, it was difficult to hear her, so I had to strain my ears. Though I remember reading that she was the best singer in the Shepherds...

Shaking my head, I arrived at the arched doorway she spoke of. I could also hear some kind of grunting coming from inside. But, along with it, I could faintly hear the whistle of a sword slicing through air, so the dirty thoughts within my mind disappeared. Plus, it kind of sounded like Lon'qu (through the use of imagination, I made it so), so that situation would've been impossible in the first place.

I entered the room.

The room could best be described as a square, with a walkway around it, letting people watch the fight, or training, happening in the sanded center. Torches aligned the walls, giving light to the room. Columns rose out of the ground, further separating the walkway from the arena. It was not the arena from the game; it was much too small for that, and there weren't stands for an audience. In the center of the sanded arena, stood a shirtless man, drenched in sweat. Black hair, black eyes, an intimidating glare. Scars resting upon his skin and muscles. An iron sword held in his hands. His right foot was before his left, and the sword was raised. Then, with a movement that has been repeated thousands upon thousands of times, the left foot moved forward to even with the right, and the sword came down and separated the air in the front. A whistle was heard, and a grunt was made. The muscles rippled from the swing of the blade- and what the Hell am I thinking?

Okay, stop thinking about this and just approach the very dangerous man with a sword, with an attitude that could kill (Yeah, not happening)! Shaking my head, once more, I approached the black haired myrmidon.

Sensing my presence somehow, even though he was facing the opposite direction as me, he spun around and slashed his sword at me. Though, with my newfound skill since entering this world, I could somewhat dodge the blade, but I am sure he won't actually try to kill me, so, by standing still, and not dodging at all, I'll be shown as a badass(probably) and- yeah, screw this!

Jumping to the side and into a roll, I avoided the blade - that just so happened to keep swinging. If I had stayed still, I might have died.

Just letting you know, that I didn't actually see the blade that well. It was a blur and I just reacted. I was not under control of my rolling actions.

Next time I hear the "Do a barrel roll" I'll definitely remember this moment... You've trained me well, rabbit. Or was it the toad?

Either way, I climbed back up to my feet, to meet the still glaring eyes of Lon'qu. He had his sword pointed at me. "Who are you?" He asked me in a gruff tone. His words were layered with ice, so I felt like I was stabbed slightly. They say words can't hurt you, but...

"The name's Charles. You must be that strong Champion of the West Khan, right? Lon'qu?" Acting as if I had heard about him from an outside factor, and not from the game he is in, I extended a hand. Lon'qu did not move. The sword remained pointed at my throat. However, after a couple of seconds of awkwardly smiling while my sweat ran down my face, Lon'qu let down his sword.

"Correct." He replied. "What are you doing here?" He turned to the side, and continued practicing his swings as he said this. His eyes never left me.

"Well, I was a bit lost, and I ran into a girl named Olivia, and I ended up here?" I titled my head slightly at the question that I asked myself. "Well, since there are two of us... Could I ask for a spar? Ah, I'm not that good with a sword, so i'd rather not get chopped into half at the beginning." Rubbing the back of my head with a slight laugh, I waited for his answer.

"You are not carrying a sword."

"This is a training room, correct? I'll just borrow one from here."

"Hmph. Very well." He stopped swinging his sword, mid-swing even, and waited for me to go grab a sword. I quickly entered into a side room, and looked for an iron sword. Finding one, I picked it up. It was a katana. It wasn't like the iron sword I had, which was more European. It was more like the sword from Fates in the Hoshido path. Though it actually looked better. It was like the Killing Edge in Awakening, only not as killer, or as edgy.

Resisting the urge to punch myself for that horrible joke, I left the small, dark room, and went back to where Lon'qu was patiently waiting for me.

We took up stances a good distance from each other, on the sandy arena in the center.

Lon'qu took the stance he always does in the game, with the sword pointing at his foe, above him. About equal to his head, I guess? His arms were a bit raised and pulled back, with his legs being spaced out and bent. I, on the other hand, just spread my legs and grasped the handle of the blade with both hands, and pointed it forward at a slant towards Lon'qu. My right foot was leaning forward. A smile was on my face.

From this match in which I will horribly lose, I will ask Lon'qu to train me in the arts of the sword. Of course, he'll say no... but I will not give up, and will instead pester him until he gives in! It's a brilliant strategy- and hey, is that the ceiling?

My back hit the sand, and I let out a gasp. My head hurt from hitting the ground, though it was just sand so it didn't hurt too much. "Hey! Don't attack me when I'm zoning out!" I argued, though a glare shut me up. Lon'qu moved back to where he started, and I got up. Taking our stances once again, the second match began. This time, I was ready.

When Lon'qu moved forward, as if he was a bullet shot from a gun, I reacted and lightly hopped backwards from him slashing horizontally at me. He followed by stepping forward with his left leg, and slashing diagonally, from top right to bottom left. I raised my sword high, and followed the trajectory of Lon'qu's sword, as it cut through the air, as I spun on my left heel past the blade. With my blade behind his, he couldn't suddenly attack to his right, at where I was, as he'll more likely than not, hit my sword. I then changed the position of my sword, so that the blade was pointing away from Lon'qu, and the pommel was pointing at him, and stabbed it sideways at him. Of course, as we were, more at less, at a ninety degree angle of each other, forming a right triangle, the attack was short.

But Lon'qu dodged it magnificently! He sidestepped to his left, and brought his blade back in an instant, and, before I could blink, he had raised it skyward to slash downwards at me! I quickly pulled my blade around and blocked it horizontally, and the sounds of two blades colliding were heard, as well as the sparks resulting from the crash. I pushed against the blade, but due to Lon'qu's greater weight and strength, plus using gravity against me, I was in a state of losing. My body was being pushed down, and I was nearly hitting the sand with my left knee. But, it was in that moment, that I pulled a trick from an anime that I knew of, that any master swordsman would probably know about!

I tilted my blade, so that Lon'qu's would slide right off!

Due to the sudden loss of resistance, as well as the weight of the sword, Lon'qu, gravity, and the force he was using, caused him, even the mighty Lon'qu, to trip forward! Though his sword didn't hit the sand, due to him pulling it back up quickly, he did lose his balance for a moment! And it was in that moment that I saw, that I went on the offensive!

Yelling unintelligibly, I slashed the katana similar to that of an arch, aimed at Lon'qu's chest. He sidestepped back, out of the way of the blade, but by doing so, he let himself open up to my real offensive, as he had only lost his balance more due to the sudden movement he made! Leaping forward, I slammed my knee into his gut, and spittle flew from his mouth. He took a step back, and his left hand came to rest on his stomach. His sword pointed downward. A confident smile was plastered onto my face, as I lightly swung my katana up and down.

"Well, how was that?" I asked him.

"...That all?" Lon'qu asked, and my smile fell.

It was as if time had stopped. I could clearly see his movements, however, recalling back to that moment later in time, it was all a blur. I saw, but my brain did not comprehend.

From that still figure of him standing, not in stance, he moved forward. He closed the short distance between us, and slashed his katana at my gut. At the last moment, just before collision, he turned the blade so that the blunted side would hit me.

When it collided with my stomach, it was as if someone had taken a hammer, and smashed it into my gut. I was left breathless, and spit flew out of my mouth. My eyes opened wide, and felt as if they would fly out as well. My feet left the sandy ground, and I flew a few feet from the impact. I smashed into the ground, and slid to a stop. My head was swimming. I could see stars flying over my head. I couldn't focus on anything around me.

I tried to stand up, but I fell back down. I couldn't say a word; only cough in pain.

It was only after a couple of minutes, that I was able to stand up. I rubbed my stomach in pain and faced Lon'qu, who stood patiently, waiting for me to get up. It was as if I had passed some sort of test, as the glare he had on lessened at seeing me standing back up.

"Damn...it... How the hell, did you...?" I understand that Lon'qu is an amazing swordsman. But I had genuinely thought I had him on the ropes! But to think that he was playing around with me! He hid his true strength, so that he could get a grasp of my fighting style, and then he used his true skills to destroy me easily! It wasn't even a match.

He shook his head lightly. "No. You were much better than I expected, so I merely let my guard down slightly."

Clicking my tongue, I looked down. Since coming here, I've experienced many an emotion. I've gained strength. I've gotten stronger, much stronger than humanely possible; at least for me. I was pretty lazy, but to be able to do everything that I've done since coming here... It wasn't possible. I feel like my strength was raised just so I would survive in this world. But now, easy mode was off. I was surely now facing the real world. No more bandits. No more under-trained weaklings. Or weak Risen. From here on, I'm sure that I will have to go through many life-or-death situations, whether or not I join the Shepherds. I could settle down, and not travel. That would be the safest option. However, knowing what would happen in the future... I just can't take that option. I have to do something!

Plus, this is a fantasy world! There are many sights to see and many things to do! First, I have to get a good look at the girls, then I have to do something fantasy-like, like use Magic! Afterwards, I have to see the elements that only exist in anime, manga, light novels, or games! A harem! I have to see a harem! And by "see" I mean, I have to get myself a freakin' harem! I'm sure... it will not be an easy task. Especially in Fire Emblem where your favorite girl dies at the drop of a hat, and you have to reset. Seriously, that pissed me off so much. I blame the crits. Even when they didn't get a crit...

But, this is not a game. This is reality. Doesn't mean that it can't _seem_ like a game. Though I might say that this is a game, but it's not! It's real life! Reality! I can die, they can die! So, maybe getting just one girl would be the best option? No, having multiple choices is also good...

Wait, why am I considering this? The first thing I have to do, is to gain strength and to survive! And to do this, I must seek out strong opponents in order to become stronger! And by strong opponents, I mean Lon'qu.

"Lon'qu. Please, I graciously and humbly ask this of you: Please train me in the art of the sword!"

"I refuse."

"Please hear me out!"

"No."

"Come on!"

"Never."

"Please?"

"Hmph."

"Please, Lon'qu! You're my only hope!"

"I'll pass."

This conversation lasted almost twenty minutes before he finally agreed. And even when he agreed, he did things at his own pace! Which, is good and all, but it hurt!

"Come on Lon'qu! Please!"

"Hmph. Fine. We start... now!" And like that, he suddenly rushed at me, swinging that iron katana of his, and nearly taking my head from my shoulders. It was a fight to the death, one where I would one-hundred percent of the time, die.

Our blades rang out against the other, and as they were pressed against each other, and sparks shot out from the force of iron rubbing against iron, Lon'qu spoke. "Your legs aren't properly spaced apart. Again!" Applying more strength that I thought he had, he forced me back. I stumbled backwards, but I caught myself before I could fall. I spaced apart my legs, but Lon'qu yelled out as he swung diagonally at me - "Now they're too spaced out!" I managed to block the slash he made against me, but because of it, I lost my balance and ended up hitting the sand beneath me.

First, my legs were too close together, which made it possible to knock me back. Then, my legs were too far away, thus making it possible to make me fall. I have to get a grasp of the right distance!

Standing back up, I spread my legs, and held up my sword, and exhaled and inhaled quickly. My lungs were starting to burn. The two of us continued to spar, and Lon'qu gave me advice. Whether it was about the spacing of my legs, or how I held my sword, and everything in between, I felt like it was the correct choice to make him my "master".

This spar, or rather, training from hell, continued without a break, until Olivia appeared and told us supper was ready, and then shrieking at the blood that I was drenched in. The blood was not Lon'qu's, if you were wondering. The blood came from the several hundred of times Lon'qu got through my defenses, and cut my body. Of course, I was provided several vulneraires just so I wouldn't bleed out, as they were used to stop the bleeding, but they didn't really fix the loss of blood problem.

With my outfit in tatters, and armor cracked, I was forced to change clothes, before heading out to eat. Luckily enough for me, I had packed one other outfit. Though I had no other armor to wear, I was okay with this. I also returned that cracked katana, and when I was led back to my room, I grabbed my own sword, and strapped it around my waist, on my belt, once I was finished changing my tattered clothes. A maid had collected my tattered clothes and armor afterwards. Lon'qu, like the good master swordsman who will nearly kill you in training, waited for me outside my room with Olivia, and when I exited the room, he led me to the dining room, where I would see Vedis once again. Unlike me, who was bruised and covered in cuts and bandages, she was neat, prim and proper. Sipping on a cup of tea, she sat there, not caring that I had nearly died hundreds of times. Then again, I don't think she knew about my latest exploits... The West Khan was also there, so I finally met him.

I learned from Basilio during the meal, that a warrior named Marth will be battling Lon'qu to become the new West Khan's champion in the tournament. The match was scheduled for tomorrow. He offered for me to watch it with him, but I already knew what the result would be, so before I agreed...

"Is it allowed to bet on who will win?" I asked him this fairly simple question. Of course, I received a favorable reply. It seems as if I will be coming into contact with lots of money sometime soon... How... deplorable of me to take advantage of something like this, you say? Well, screw morals! I want money!

After ranting about how money makes the world go round, of course only in my mind, I then started to become worried for Lon'qu. I mean, he's going to lose, right? If he loses... will I also lose a teacher? And if he finds out that I didn't bet on him to win... wouldn't he get a bit pissed? I mean, Lucina only wins against Lon'qu because he has gynophobia - fear of women - due to an event in his childhood... I don't remember the specifics. I'm pretty sure it was a girl he loved dying? Something along does lines.

"But, ah... that meal was delish." I patted my stomach as I walked through the long hallways known as corridors. The corridors, also hallways, looked the same, so it was easy to get lost if you don't know where you were. Turning at a corner, I spotted a head of short blue hair.

My eyes widened. Is that Lucina? No, no, she's wearing a mask, so it's "Marth" right now. Then again, when we met in that forest, we didn't exchange names, so it would be weird to know the fake name she's going as... Well, let's just make a small greeting first, right?

"Hey!" I cheerfully greeted, throwing up a hand in greeting. Lucina turned her head and stared at me, but there was no change in her expression. I don't even think she recognized me... Well, it wasn't like we had a nice chat, I mean, we met in a freakin' forest on fire for Naga's sake!

Shaking my head slightly, I approached the girl from the future.

"Greetings." Lucina replied, speaking in a kind of gruff male voice. "And may I ask who you are?" A follow-up question! And easily answerable as well.

"The name is Charles, my rather masked friend. And, masked friend, what is yours?" Of course, I knew her fake and real name. But I can't let her know that, right? So, playing it safe, I asked for her name. However, at the slight downward curl of her lips, I feel as if something was wrong.

"...You." I could hardly hear her whisper those words, and she didn't even try to disguise her voice.

"Excuse me?" I faked being unable to hear her. In anime, it would be a cliche to not hear what they said, so, using that to my advantage, I asked a question to advance the conversation. The conversation can take two paths from here: One, it will go back to before she said "you" and she'll tell me something along the lines of "never mind" and "my name is", but the second one, is that she'll continue on that train of thought with "you".

What? I'm pretty smart, ya know? I'm not one of those really dumb people. Still gotta work on my memory though...

"Nothing." Predictable. "My name is Marth... Charles." I blinked, and smiled.

"Then, Marth, it was nice to meet you."

"..."

"I-I'll just be on my way now." I turned around and walked away. I could feel Lucina's glare against my back, even as I turned the corner.

This conversation I just had... It told me a few things that were unexpected. One, Lucina somehow knew me, or heard of me. Which means, that the future she came from, is one in which I was there. Should be obvious, as I was brought into this game, or rather world, so the future would definitely change. So, adding me in, of course, there is the bad ending and the good ending. Lucina came from the bad ending. But, to hear a response such as the one I was given - it means that she didn't know me personally, and just heard of my name and some other kinds of information. By the tone of her voice, and the glaring, it meant that it was not good.

If I replaced Robin, which I doubt I did, it meant that I would be possessed by Grima or something... Possibly. Probably. Maybe.

Well, ignoring that, I apparently do something bad. So all I have to do, is to avoid doing anything stupid. Staying away from possibly cursed artifacts, especially masks, check. But what else is there? I'm not quite sure I know what else I have to look out for. I mean, it wasn't like whatever bad thing that is going to happen, is already happening.

Well, no use in thinking about it. I'll just have to take it at my own pace.

Once tomorrow starts, it will be six days to the tournament, and the day that Lon'qu fights Lucina and loses because he realizes that "Marth" is a girl. Or at least gets affected by his gynophobia because of the close contact. Either way, he will be losing, and I'll become rich beyond belief. Heheheh.

I was definitely not consumed by greed. I was not. I... just wanted the Shinies.

On another note, I also learned something amazing. Do you want to know what it is? Trust me when I say this, but it will definitely blow your mind. I have two things to say: One. I have not gone crazy. Two. I forgot where my room was.

So, if you can please excuse me, I am going to go and search for it. Hopefully I'll either find it, or someone else, before I go crazy being lost in this labyrinth of a castle. Sighing, I doubled my walking speed and continued walking. ' _Eventually..._ ' I thought to myself. ' _I'll eventually make it to my room and remember where it is! I promise you voices within my head!_ ' Making a promise with an entity within my head, which is not there, because I am not crazy, I walked on. Down this corridor, down that corridor. And eventually, four hours later, I arrived at my goal. Yes, this door... is my room! I grabbed the door knob, turned it, and pushed open the door!

What was in front of me, was not my room.

It was Lon'qu's room!

"What?" He turned and spoke to me. He was currently polishing his blade, a Killer Edge, if my eyes do not deceive me. "Did you want to get some last minute training in for today?" He stood up. Moving closer to me, my mind finally returned, and I tried to close the door. But, he caught it as it was closing.

"N-no, I was just looking for my own room." I spoke hurriedly.

"Then, I'll show you after a short spar."

Please, Naga, noooo!

After that, we sparred well into the night, and when I woke up the next morning, I was in my room, covered in new bandages, and new wounds. Lon'qu... I... really hate you right now!

* * *

 **And finally finished *phew*.**

 **Well, there we have it! Charles has entered Arena Ferox, met Olivia, Lon'qu, and Basilio, and gained Lon'qu as a Master-sort-of-figure! He also came into contact with Lucina again. Please tell me if I messed up any of these characters, and I will quickly fix it!**

 **Also, I hate editing my own work. If you would like to edit it for me, please let me know, so I can stop worrying about reading my own work! Hahaha! Trust me, you aren't going to like editing this!**

 **Also, I have been thinking about writing my own novel or book... If you want to know about it, please send me $1000. In any case, next chapter... Charles gets rich! Whahaha! My ultimate dream is coming into fruition! Heheh.**

 **Oh, uh...**

 **Fire Emblem Heroes! I haven't gotten Loli Tiki yet, so let me ask you a question... WHY AREN'T YOU PRAYING FOR ME? I should've gotten her :( but I didn't. Why must I go through this torture? I also replaced Eliwood, cause he kinda sucks, with Clarine. She already has the same speed, almost same HP, Def, and Res, as him, so... In about, seven levels, she'll probably surpass him in everything but attack.**

 **I have also gotten nothing but bad units in the lat couple of summoning tries. But now... I also want to get Eirika. I mean, have you seen her gorgeous armor!?**

 **Okay, I'm done.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Please favorite if you love this beyond belief.**

 **Please follow if you want to stay up-to-date about whether I will be getting the next chapter up this month, or next year.**

 **And please, leave a review if you wish to say something about this story. I will certainly read it. Probably.**

 **Have a good day...**


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